(Adds PN statement)
Malta will accept the relocation of migrants from Italy and Greece in a show of solidarity, Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela said this afternoon.
He was reacting to proposals unveiled by the European Commission today, which included plans to initiate an emergency mechanism for the relocation of immigrants that land in Italy and Greece.
Malta was excluded because the number of immigrants coming to the island over the past two years has dropped dramatically. But the Commission said similar emergency provisions would be applied to Malta if it also faced a sudden influx of migrants.
Mr Abela said Malta had long sought solidarity and responsibility from other member states. “In the moment of truth we cannot retract what we have always insisted upon and the 145 migrants per year for two years Malta will be expected to accept from Italy and Greece pale into insignificance when compared to the far superior numbers Malta had to shoulder in the past on its own.”
The proposals will have to be approved by the European Council in June by qualified majority and Mr Abela said that from his assessment it seemed the numbers were there for the plan to be approved.
On the military operation to attack people traffickers, Mr Abela said military planners were currently hammering out the operational details.
He had no information as to when the UN Security Council would vote on a resolution to give the EU mission a mandate to enter Libyan waters to board, search and possibly destroy boats used for smuggling.
PN STATEMENT
In a statement, shadow ministers Beppe Fenech Adami and Roberta Metsola and spokesman Francis Zammit Dimech said that while this was an emergency response to an emergency situation, the PN would have preferred had Malta, with its very specific and unique circumstances, also been included with Greece and Italy.
"Nonetheless it is an acknowledgement that this is a European challenge that deserves a European response by every member state acting in solidarity. It is a first step and will be followed by a permanent system expected to be proposed later in the year."
The PN also noted the Commission's commitment that should Malta experience a sudden influx of migrants, the relocation system would also be used for Malta.
"This is something we have argued in favour of for a long time on a local level and within the European Parliament. A relocation system must be one part of a holistic approach to migration. It must go hand in hand with other measures and we hope that this will signal the beginning of a reform of EU rules on migration and asylum that would mean that Mediterranean countries are no longer faced with a disproportionate responsibility once people are rescued from the sea.
"The ball is now again in the Prime Minister’s court. The Prime Minister needs to safeguard Malta's interests within the European Council and achieve tangible results for our country.
"Equally, we expect every member state to act in solidarity and to live up to its responsibilities. This is what the whole concept of co-responsibility is all about and this is the time when all the member states must walk the talk and share between them the responsibility that pertains to all the members of the European Union," they said.