It would be “too pessimistic” to rule out an EU agreement on plans to redistribute migrants across member states despite growing resistance, according to the Home Affairs Ministry.
Reacting to reports that a proposed emergency plan was likely to be delayed, a spokeswoman for the ministry said further discussions would be held.
The government had not given up yet, she added. “Saying it would take a miracle to get the proposals approved may be too pessimistic, which isn’t to say there aren’t difficulties.”
European Council sources told this newspaper this week there was little chance of EU leaders agreeing on the migration plan at June’s summit.
Given that arrivals in Malta have been negligible over the past two years, the island will be expected to accept about 300 migrants
Home affairs ministers from across the EU are expected to meet next week to approve proposals to redistribute migrants according to plans drawn up by the European Commission. If an agreement is not reached, the final say will rest with the heads of State and of government at the end of next month.
The emergency provisions would see some 40,000 Eritrean and Somali migrants living in Italy and Greece redistributed across Europe. Given that mi-grant arrivals in Malta have been negligible over the past two years, the island will be expected to accept about 300 migrants from the two countries.
The Commission has declared it would be ready to put Malta on the same level of protection as Rome and Athens if it faced a similar level of arrivals.
Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela told this newspaper last month he was confident the plan would be implemented. However, resistance has grown over recent days, with a number of countries, including Germany and France, opposing the proposed measures.
The ministry spokeswoman said the government supported the policy in principle and pointed out that, although the emergency mechanism was being proposed for Italy and Greece, Malta would qualify for similar assistance under the same circumstances.
However, she said the government had its reservations: “We think that the criteria [for resettlement] should have included the size of the country, because this determines the population density. Other member states have voiced other difficulties, including the lack of capacity for the reception of migrants to be relocated.”
Nearly 240 agree to return home
About 238 migrants in Malta have received assistance to voluntarily return to their countries of origin since 2009, the International Organisation for Migration said yesterday.
Addressing a conference on assisted relocation, IOM spokeswoman Laura Maciulskaite said the number of migrants signing up for return initiatives had more than doubled since the first programme five years ago.
Last year, some 75 migrants decided to return home. These included three young children.
Ms Maciulskaite said the migrants were mostly men aged between 18 and 39, an indication that they had left their country of origin for economic reasons.
So far this year, 31 migrants have chosen to be repatriated, with 11 being sent to Egypt.
Ms Maciulskaite told Times of Malta there was no pattern to tell how long migrants remained in Malta before choosing to return home.
“We have some that have lived here for years and then chosen to go home after making enough money. We have others who have come to us straight after leaving detention. It depends. We are dealing with people and each one has their own story,” she said.
ivan.martin@timesofmalta.com