Today’s EU Council meeting in Brussels, in which leaders are meant to hammer out a plan to tackle migration, risks being overshadowed by the Greek crisis, Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela warned yesterday.
The plan proposed by the European Commission includes an emergency mechanism to redistribute asylum seekers who land in Italy and Greece.
A Eurogroup meeting held in the hope of reaching an agreement with Athens broke up early yesterday, with a deal still some distance away.
It won’t be easy. But a sliver of hope emerged following last week’s meeting
Ministers will meet again today at lunchtime for another stab after the Greeks resume talks with creditors.
Meanwhile, Brussels insiders have indicated that an agreement on the migration relocation plan is unlikely and this will have to be postponed to after the summer.
“Prior to last week’s Home Affairs Ministers’ meeting in Luxembourg, there was a strong feeling of pessimism,” Mr Abela told Times of Malta.
There had already been strong statements from a number of eastern European countries declaring their disapproval.
“Last week, we feared the proposal would be killed off there and then. But it went through. Although certain countries stuck to their guns, the language used was less confrontational.
“It won’t be easy. But a sliver of hope emerged following last week’s meeting.”
Voluntary relocation did not work, he added. There were countries insisting they were already being impacted by immigration.
But that argument could easily be applied to Malta, if the island started flagging all the instances in the past when it was left to its own devices.
“We could give the same excuses as well. But ultimately it’s about the issue of solidarity and responsibility.
“We will have to see. It’s a waiting game, really and truly.”
Mr Abela yesterday attended a conference marking the end of an EU-funded project run by the Agency for the Welfare of Asylum Seekers (AWAS) and NGO Kopin.
Ultimately it’s about the issue of solidarity and responsibility
The project aimed to provide practical advice and information to residents of open centres about how to access services and their entitlements in Malta, using a rights-based approach.
The information sessions were carried out between March and June at the Hangar Open Centre, Ħal Far Tent Village, Dar is-Sliem and Dar il-Liedna. During the conference, Mr Abela appealed for more information and education to be directed not only to the migrant population but at the public as well, to enable them to understand the migration phenomenon.
“Maybe some people speak the way they do because they don’t know the reality – that we have mainly political refugees, who seek refuge from hardships in their countries.
“However, at last week’s EU Home Affairs Ministers’ meeting, we agreed to also send the message that those migrants who do not qualify for protection must be returned.”
Ministries were in discussions to draw up a holistic policy on migration that would be executed by one ministry, he said.
There also needed to be better coordination between different stakeholders. The work of NGOs was appreciated, he said, adding they should remain key partners in the issue of migration.
Recommendations
Kopin’s recommendations and feedback after carrying out information sessions with the residents of open centres:
• Mental and sexual health are the topics the migrants paid the most attention to and contributed the most.
• Issues like post-traumatic stress disorder, grief and anger are extremely prevalent across the centres – there is a need for psychological attention.
• Compulsory initial scheduling of GU clinic appointments is recommended.
• Interpreters need training regarding the asylum system.
• More importance needs to be given to the functions of the Employment and Training Corporation (especially in terms of protection status).