Photo: Jason Borg

"I come here as a friend of your country," European Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom told President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca this morning.

Her comment was in response to the President's friendly remark that Ms Malmstrom's visit created some "excitement".

The reference was probably to the wide coverage given to Ms Malmstrom's visit and the sensitive subject of immigration, which falls within her portfolio.

The media was allowed in for the first few minutes of the meeting with the President.

Ms Coleiro Preca said the government was committed to "put things in the right place" when dealing with the migration phenomenon, particularly the welfare of people who end up in Malta.

"There is still a lot to be done but you are also aware of Malta's constraints," she said.

The meeting with the President was Ms Malmstrom's first event of the day. She then visited the Safi detention centre and then the Marsa open centre, where she was shown around by Ahmed Bugri, the managing director of the Foundation for Shelter and Support to Migrants that operates the Marsa Open Centre.

Later she had a private meeting with immigrants at the centre. She did not comment after the meeting telling the media when approached that she had to leave.

Mr Bugri said the Commissioner was impressed by the improvements at the Marsa centre and commented on how well the EU funds were being spent.

She also heard the concerns of some of the migrants, the main one being their future.

The migrants acknowledged that Malta was a small country and said something needed to be done for them to be able to move on.

Commissioner Malmstrom, Mr Bugri said, acknowledged the difficulties and that not enough was being done by other EU states and promised she would continue to push for other countries to help in a tangible manner.

Mr Bugri said that one could not expect the Commissioner on her own to solve the irregular migration problem. Malta, he said, also needed to do its part. 

He said that more emphasis had to be placed in teaching migrants new skills and help them integrate into society.

Mr Bugri spoke on the need for a framework to support migrants when they found work to help them keep it for the long term.

Photo: Pierre Sammut, DOI

Earlier, Commissioner Malmstrom also had a meeting with Foreign Minister George Vella.

Dr Vella said that the immigration challenge had also become a security one, in view of ISIS islamists.

He insisted with Commissioner Malmstrom for more structural help so that immigrants who arrived in Malta were examined in the most serious and quick manner

This was Ms Malmstrom's third visit to the island.