Immigrants told European Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström Malta was too small and they wanted to move on to Europe.

During a private meeting at the Marsa open centre, several migrants were reported to have told Ms Malmström they were worried about their future.

They joined the chorus of Maltese politicians, including President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, who insisted the EU had to do more to absorb immigrants who ended up here.

Ms Malmström’s two-day visit came to an end yesterday with visits to the Safi detention centre and the Marsa centre.

The media was not invited to cover the visit at the Safi centre and Ms Malmström did not speak to journalists after taking a tour of the Marsa centre where she was shown some refurbishment works carried out through EU funds.

Marsa centre director Ahmed Bugri said that during the private meeting, Ms Malmström promised to continue in her efforts to persuade other EU members to take in asylum seekers from Malta.

“Migrants acknowledged that Malta was a small country and told Ms Malmström something had to be done for them to be able to move on,” Dr Bugri said.

While touring the refurbished dormitories, Ms Malmström said the conditions at the centre had improved since the last time she visited, noting that EU funds were “well-spent”.

The Marsa centre houses about 250 migrants and has a capacity of just over 500.

Residents there can stay for a maximum of one year, bar exceptional cases.

Cecilia Malmström with President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca at the Palace yesterday. Photo: Jason Borg

‘I come here as a friend of your country’

Training and education programmes are provided to encourage migrants find a job and move into the community.

The commissioner started her day with a courtesy visit to the President at the Palace in Valletta.

“I come here as a friend of your country,” Ms Malmström said in response to the President’s friendly remark that the visit was the cause of some “excitement”.

The President was probably referring to the wide coverage given to Ms Malmström’s visit in view of the sensitive subject of immigration, which falls within her portfolio.

The media was allowed in for the first few minutes of the meeting.

There is still a lot to be done but you are also aware of Malta’s constraints

Ms Coleiro Preca said that the government was committed to “put things in the right perspective” when dealing with the migration phenomenon, particularly the welfare of people who ended up in Malta.

“There is still a lot to be done but you are also aware of Malta’s constraints,” Ms Coleiro Preca said.

The President’s office said in a statement after the meeting that Ms Coleiro Preca expressed her wish to see more cooperation between member states on a Europe-wide integration and protection policy for migrants.

The President said that although Malta was a special case because of its small size, this did not mean shedding responsibility to save lives.

In a separate meeting also closed to the media, Foreign Minister George Vella linked the migration phenomenon to the issue of security.

The Foreign Ministry said Dr Vella sought the creation of a structured EU screening mechanism to ensure migrants who landed in Malta were examined thoroughly to ensure they posed no security threat.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com