Malta expected more support from EU partners when it came to migrant burden sharing, Opposition leader Simon Busuttil said yesterday.

Addressing members of the press and foreign dignitaries at a New Year’s gathering at the Nationalist Party headquarters in Pietà, Dr Busuttil said the island had hosted thousands of refugees over the years.

Malta required the tangible assistance of other member states to continue offering adequate conditions to migrants rescued at sea, which they hosted.

“These people cross deserts and the Mediterranean sea in the most treacherous of conditions. We want the Mediterranean to be a sea of peace and for this we need assistance,” he said.

Dr Busuttil welcomed the recent developments in the Middle East, including the resolution on the destruction of Syrian nuclear arms and the decision for such weapons not to be dumped in the Mediterranean.

He invited the dignitaries present to support peace efforts in post-Gaddafi Libya.

“Malta assisted Libya in its hour of need. The need for help, however, remains.

We must continue to express support for the Libyan people so that they too can enjoy the fundamental rights of a free democracy,” he said.