The Prime Minister said this evening that the Immigration Pact approved by EU ministers last week tackled immigration in a holistic manner, setting a policy direction for the European Union and establishing a firm basis upon which solutions could be built in the short and the long term.
“This is a task, this sets direction, this is a plan of action which the European Commission is expected to work on in the coming months,” Dr Gonzi told Parliament in a statement.
The Opposition spokesman on EU affairs, George Vella, said he understood that no country could be forced to take migrants from Malta, but the opposition still expected a stronger document than this, and it feared that the Pact would not solve anything.
In his statement, Dr Gonzi said that the Pact would strengthen Malta’s own efforts in tackling immigration by protecting those migrants who deserved protection while repatriating those who did not. This would be carried out in the context of solidarity between the member states of the EU.
Dr Gonzi said the Maltese government had raised awareness in the European Union on the situation of immigration in Malta. Hitherto, the EU had not treated immigration at a union level and each country had treated the issue as it deemed fit.
Malta, however, had played a crucial role in the establishment of mechanisms to address migration, including the setting up of the Frontex border control agency and the allocation of funds, including the Refugee Fund and the External Borders Fund.
However the need had been felt for a plan to tackle all the aspects of the immigration problem. The French Presidency had therefore drafted a comprehensive political document which was first distributed in draft form last May.
Malta had immediately noted the absence, in that document, of the principle of burden sharing and the possibility of migrants being relocated to other EU countries.
It pressed its case in various quarters and both principles were included in the final document signed on September 25.
Dr Gonzi went over the contents of the Immigration Pact, highlighting the clause on burden-sharing. This, he said, was not a simple declaration, but much more. All 27 member states had unanimously chosen to give their consent for this pact to be implemented by the European Union.
The Maltese government, therefore, felt it was in the true,long term interest of Malta that this pact should be supported.
Labour MPs Anglu Farrugia, Michael Falzon, Carmelo Abela and George Vella asked a series of questions, notably on the voluntary nature of burden-sharing. They also asked about the effectiveness of Frontex and why repatriation of migrants had declined even when arrivals had increased. Dr Vella said the opposition was four-square behind the government in that both agreed that Malta deserved more tangible solidarity from the EU. The opposition, however, had expected the government to be more forceful in its talks on the Immigration Pact.
He agreed that one could not force other countries to take immigrants from Malta, whether they were legal or illegal immigrants but the opposition had wished to see a firmer stand by Malta and a stronger document than this. His fear was that this declaration would not solve anything.
Dr Vella insisted that the two sides needed to work together, not least because of the way how racist and xenophobic sentiments were growing in Malta.
He also referred to the fire which destroyed five tents at the open centre at Hal Far on Sunday and said Malta should give more humane protection for such people as winter approached.
In his replies, Home Affairs Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici said that as Dr Vella had argued, no country could be forced to take migrants from another country. This voluntary and coordinated burden-sharing mechanism, therefore, was the best that could be achieved.
He said Malta never said it was completely happy with Frontex, but it should be continued because Malta was still benefiting. Frontex signified the EU presence at the border and Malta would continue to insist that Frontex stayed here, and more countries participated in it through funds and assets.
Dr Mifsud Bonnici said Malta was doing its best to repatriate more migrants. But it was not easy, particularly since a large number of migrants came from Somalia. It was where repatriation could not be made that the new burden-sharing mechanism came into play.
Dr Mifsud Bonnici said plans were in hand for the tents at Hal Far to be gradually replaced by containers which would be used as mobile homes.
Dr Gonzi welcomed Dr Vella's declaration that the opposition was four-square with the government, more so as its call for the government not to sign the Pact may have given the impression that its position was close to that of right wing elements. He pointed out that, importantly for Malta, this Pact would also involve coordination for the repatriation of migrants, something which, to date, had also been a logistical nightmare for Malta. As for compulsory burden-sharing, Dr Gonzi said one should be careful, lest Malta itself was required to take migrants from other countries which had seen a steep increase in migrants.
Dr Gonzi said he expected more from Frontex, but it was not a failure and had saved many lives, which was the most important thing. One could also note that while migration had risen by 195 percent in Lampedusa the increase in Malta was 35 percent. All should work for it to have more assets.
Concluding, Dr Gonzi said that last week he informally met Italian Minister Frattini who confirmed that a meeting would be held in Malta between Libya, Italy and Malta to discuss migration.