Despite calls by Malta and Italy to activate the solidarity mechanism obliging member states to share the burden of the current migration flows from Libya, Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom has once again argued against the proposal, stating that ‘the numbers are not yet huge’ to merit the activation of the temporary protection directive.
While recognising that 800 asylum seekers for Malta are a lot, she still held to her original position that “"it is not the case yet (to activate mechanism).”
Speaking in Brussels, she said: “There are perhaps over 2000 refugees from Libya, 800 in Malta - which is a lot for a tiny island, but not enough to trigger this mechanism.”
“There are also other ways member states can show their solidarity with Malta. For instance, contributing in the resettlement programme, we had that pilot project in Malta and it worked well,” she said.
The pilot project was put in place in 2008 by the Commission so that EU member states would resettle, on a voluntary basis, refugees from Malta. Less than 300 were resettled by the other 26 member states in three years.
Commissioner Malmstrom also said that the issue of migration in the Mediterranean is becoming “too emotional” and warned Italy and Malta not to play a “blame game” on whose fault was the recent capsize of a boat full of migrants close to Lampedusa.
“It is absolutely horrible, you'd have to be made out of stone not to be touched by this. Also the fact that there are people taking advantage of this, selling tickets for these overcrowded boats, with no life vests on board.”
Meanwhile, apart from an unfolding dispute with Malta over its refusal to let an AFM boat disembark asylum seekers in Lampedusa, Italy is also in dispute with another neighbour, France, as the latter is refusing to give entry permission to economic migrants from Tunisia which landed in Lampedusa.
France has warned that it is preparing to close the border with Italy if Rome continues to give temporary permits to the illegal immigrants to cross over to France.
GERMANY TO TAKE 100 MIGRANTS
Meanwhile Hans-Peter Friedrich, the German Home Affairs Minister,said in a speech in Berlin this morning that his country was prepared to take 100 migrants from Malta.
Germany took another 100 migrants from Malta last year.