The European Commission is to extend the current intra-EU resettlement programme specifically designed for Malta, the European Commission announced today.

Half of the EU member states also promised during today’s meeting of Justice and Home Affairs Ministers in Luxembourg that they will be taking migrants from Malta.

At the same time, Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom told the ministers that the EU executive does not feel that there are the right numbers yet to activate the Temporary Protection Directive, as formally requested by Malta and Italy, which will push member states towards burden sharing.

While expressing disappointment at the Commission’s position, as Malta feels that there is an emergency that justifies the Temporary Protection Directive, Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici told timesofmalta.com that the Commission was extending the intra-EU resettlement programme for Malta and that “at least half the member states have publicly promised that they will make pledges to take some migrants from Malta.”

No numbers have been given so far and the only member state which made known its pledge, Germany – the EU’s biggest member states – which said that it will take 100 ‘Maltese’ migrants.

The Maltese pilot project was set up by the Commission in 2008 and in three years 300 migrants have been taken from Malta.

Dr Mifsud Bonnici said that the process was “difficult” but Malta is making tremendous diplomatic efforts to convince other member states to resettle these refugees.

He said that all member states this morning agreed that Malta is facing a very difficult situation.

Belgium, France and Hungary, along with Germany, are among the member states which pledged to take migrants from Malta