Labour leader Joseph Muscat made a somewhat bizarre proposition when he presented his party's immigration action plan in Parliament. Briefly summarised, the party's position is that Malta ought to make use of the power of the veto in its bid to solve the illegal immigration problem. Would this be wise? Would it help solve the problem? It would not and Dr Muscat and his party deserve every bit of criticism they are getting both from government quarters and from others for the proposal. The time will come when they will rue their decision to include the proposal in the action programme and the best thing for them to do now is to forget all about it.

Calling for tougher action, Dr Muscat said Malta should not exclude the suspension of its international obligations. In his view, the government should suspend membership of the immigration pact and that, when the sustainable number of migrants who can be accommodated is exceeded, Malta should use its veto where unanimity is needed in the EU. He feels the veto should be used sporadically, even in areas that have nothing to do with illegal immigration, until the other EU countries take notice and agree to change the rules.

There is nothing wrong in using the veto when it is absolutely necessary to do so in the country's interest but certainly not in the way Dr Muscat is proposing. Using the veto indiscriminately will isolate the island, frustrate efforts to find solutions from within the EU and robs the island of the political goodwill and credibility it enjoys and which help in its relations with the other members states. It will also damage the country's image.

Clearly, this is not the wisest course to take and it is amazing that Labour have felt the need to go to this extreme. True, it is taking European partners a long time to fully appreciate the difficulties Malta is facing in the wake of the increasing flow of illegal immigrants. Let it also be said, too, with justification, that the steps taken so far fall short of expectations. But the problem is now receiving greater attention than ever before and it would therefore be rash for Malta to lose its patience in dealing with its EU partners.

The government is rightly against suspending its international obligations. Justice and Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici said that "were the government to do this, the country will suffer because it will be ostracised from the internal debate where we hope to achieve something". He was also reported as saying: "There have been circumstances when I have objected and suggested the use of the veto when meeting my European counterparts but I don't want to emulate Dom Mintoff in Helsinki with the consequence of isolating myself from the discussion table. I am not prepared to be intransigent". Well put.

Besides, matters appear to be taking a new course now, so much so that the European Parliament has just proposed a legally-binding burden-sharing mechanism under which immigrants would be allocated to EU countries on a compulsory basis. This is in addition to the work being done to review the Dublin regulation, which, as it stands now, places the responsibility for immigrants and asylum-seekers on the country of the first point of entry.

The problem will not be solved overnight but seeking solutions through the normal process of debate and negotiation is certainly better than through the misuse of the veto.