In the first sitting of Parliament after the summer recess, the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition agreed that the two parties’ positions on immigration were converging.
Reporting on the extraordinary European Council meeting regarding immigration held last month, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said that an agreement had been reached, through a qualified majority, about sharing immigrants among Member States. Over a period of two years Malta will take 189 refugees out of 160,000 to be relocated from Italy, Greece and Hungary.
The issue, he said, was now at the centre of the EU agenda and not faced by few countries on their own. Malta did not consider the construction of walls a solution. “We have to work for new rules that apply to today’s realities. The European Union has to engage with African countries to develop valid repatriation policies and practices for immigrants that do not merit protection.”
In this regard Dr Muscat referred to the imminent Valletta summit between European leaders and African heads of state, saying Malta would like to take the initiative towards constructive and effective solutions rather than hosting another talking shop.
The need for action was reiterated during his visit to the United Nations General Assembly. Immigration, Dr Muscat said, was a global phenomenon. Europe was the only continent taking concrete steps to solve the exploitation of desperate people. He proposed the setting up of effective international instruments to tackle immigration, including global quotas.
Climate change and the urgent need for a global response were also discussed in New York. Malta would be seeking to implement decisions to ensure sustainability and the issue would be taken up at the imminent CHOGM meeting.
This meeting, said the Prime Minister, could provide the Commonwealth with an opportunity to formulate tangible targets and operational directions in the sphere of climate change.
Quoting Commonwealth Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, Dr Muscat said the Malta CHOGM could be a watershed meeting bringing together the tiniest and some of the most populous states.
Half the 14,000residence permits were renewals- Joseph Muscat
Simon Busuttil said the Opposition commended the position adopted by Malta on immigration; the positions of the two parties on the issue had all but converged.
He said that government had changed its direction and this not only augured well but merited the full backing of the Opposition.
Dr Busuttil described the conclusions of the EU summit as crucial to the credibility of the bloc on this matter, adding that Malta’s position was consistent and credible, continuing on the work of previous administrations.
This summit, he said, had paved the way for a mandatory burden sharing which, he cautioned, should ensure there were criteria which safeguarded Malta’s particular needs, including the geographical aspects.
Referring to migration from Syria, Dr Busuttil asked the Prime Minister to elaborate on the possible solutions he could see for this war-torn country.
He also asked for further information on the situation in Libya, which seemed to be at a stalemate and that might need some prodding from the EU.
Dr Busuttil asked about the possibility of an annual quota of foreigners that Malta could take, given that in one year, over 14,000 residence permits were issued.
Dr Muscat said that the quota suggested was technically problematic and difficult to implement in the Schengen scenario, while a points system may be considered.
Half the quoted residence permits were renewals of permits already granted, he added.
With regard to climate change, Dr Muscat said the emerging economies needed to be assisted in economic growth as this too had an effect on migration.
MPs Mario De Marco, Charles Mangion, Tonio Fenech, Luciano Busuttil, and Paula Mifsud Bonnici also participated in the debate.