The European Commission is still waiting for Malta’s formal application that would trigger an emergency assistance mechanism on irregular migration.

This was revealed yesterday by the director general of the European Asylum Support Office (EASO), Robert Visser.

Last July, following the arrival of hundreds of asylum seekers, the Government had said it was in the process of submitting the application. This would secure aid to bolster the island’s asylum system.

I am fully aware of Malta’s declaration

However, it appears the application has still not reached Brussels. Asked yesterday for an update, Mr Visser – visibly uncomfortable – said that “despite being aware that Malta intended submitting an application, we have not received anything yet from the Maltese Government. “I am fully aware of Malta’s declaration but we cannot start our discussions to help Malta if we don’t yet have a formal request and application,” Mr Visser said during an EASO press conference. Questions sent to the Office of the Prime Minister remained unanswered by the time of going to print.

Last July, in the wake of a large influx of immigrants, the Prime Minister’s spokesman confirmed Malta was considering a formal request to the EU for emergency support.

Should the application eventually go through, it would be a first for Malta.

Under EASO’s rules, emergency solidarity support can be provided to a member state that comes under migration pressure. This would consist of aid to repair or rebuild its asylum system, such by deploying asylum support teams from other member states to help process applications, improve reception facilities and speed up national identification.

Some EU countries, including Greece, Luxembourg and Italy, have already made use of the emergency support facility provided by the Malta-based EASO.

Yesterday, a delegation from the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee visited EASO and MEP Jan Mulder, who led the delegation, said the European Parliament fully supported Malta’s request for additional aid. He said the EP had just made sure the budget of EASO and Frontex, the EU’s border agency, would be increased.

“This is also another form of solidarity with Malta,” Mr Mulder said.

The delegation of MEPs included Austrian Josef Weidenholzer from the Socialist group and Roberta Metsola from the EPP.