MEPs yesterday advocated a European solution to the migration problem facing the Mediterranean.
Speaking at a conference on irregular migration organised by the European Parliament Office in Malta, MEPs Jan Mulder, Josef Weidenholzer and Roberta Metsola insisted that a solution would require the support of the entire EU.
The three MEPs formed part of a fact-finding delegation from the European Parliament on the migration situation in the Mediterranean.
The conference was opened by the sombre first-hand account of a migrant journey by Eritrean Goitom Yosief. Mr Yosief has lived in Malta since 2007 after having made the perilous journey across central Africa and eventually across the Mediterranean.
In a panel debate moderated by Times of Malta head of news Ariadne Massa, Dutch MEP Mr Weidenholzer pointed to the importance of distinguishing between migration and political asylum.
The lack of a migration policy, he said, was leading to irregular journeys occurring under the guise of political asylum.
“A quarter of people who try to cross the Mediterranean die. This cannot go on,” he said.
A quarter of people who try to cross the Mediterranean die
Nationalist MEP Ms Metsola said Malta had one of the highest number of migrants per capita in the EU. She said that the European Parliament had recently signed off on a burden sharing resolution, however the Council of Ministers would wait for a report on the situation by the specially formed Mediterranean migration task force before taking a position.
Asked whether tackling human traffickers would close the door on would-be migrants, Mr Mulder acknowledged the possibility, adding that the burden of responsibility on the receiving countries would have to be addressed.
Mr Weidenholzer suggested that a pilot project on a mechanism to deal with rescued migrants could help better identify solutions. “Helping those at sea must be a priority. There can be no push backs or gesturing with migrants at sea. Their safety must be put first,” he said.
The conference also featured a debate between Marsa mayor Francis Debono and Balzan councillor Stephen Gatt.
Mr Debono described the opening of the Albert Town open centre as a shock to Marsa residents. He said that hundreds of migrants loitered in the streets near the centre “drinking and doing nothing”. The residential culture, he said, had shifted as migrants were prepared to live in different living conditions to locals.
Asked if Marsa had been left to deal with the migrant influx on its own, Mr Debono skirted the issue and said that language and cultural barriers made the integration of migrants into society increasingly difficult.
Mr Gatt said the situation in Balzan was entirely different. Some 140 migrants make use of an open centre in the locality.
He explained that cultural integration initiatives at band clubs, church buildings and even family homes helped migrants form part of the community.
Mr Debono said the com-plex migrant situation in his locality made such measures more difficult.