The Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs said today that the main challenge that Malta was currently facing in the issue of immigration did not relate to the asylum determination process, but rather to the long-term integration of beneficiaries of international protection.

"This is due to the innate limitations of the country, including its small size, high population density and small labour market prone to saturation."

It was for these reasons, the ministry said, that Malta had repeatedly advocated the resettlement of beneficiaries of international protection to other EU Member States and other extra-European states.

At the same time, Malta had launched integration-oriented programmes focusing on cultural orientation, language training and employability with a view to integrating in Maltese society those beneficiaries of international protection who are not resettled.

The ministry was reacting to a blog entry by the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, Thomas Hammarberg titled ‘The Dublin Regulation undermines refugee rights’ http://commissioner.cws.coe.int/tiki-view_blog.php?blogId=1

"Whereas Malta agrees that the Dublin system needs to be reformed or complemented by a responsibility-sharing mechanism at European Union level, with a view to ensure a more equitable distribution of asylum responsibility, it has to be pointed out that notwithstanding the pressures it has faced over the past years, the Maltese asylum system has proven efficient and effective as acknowledged last week by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights," the ministry said.

"Malta has invested in the administrative capacity of the Office of the Refugee Commissioner and most asylum cases are determined within six months or less. Malta also has the highest asylum recognition rate in the European Union, which stands at over 50%, and has hovered around 65% in 2009."

The ministry said that while Malta fully supports the ongoing development of a European Asylum System, it believes that its objectives can be better achieved if responsibilities are equitably distributed among the Member States.

"Only this can ensure that further to granting international protection to those who are deserving, the European Union is also able to properly integrate these persons. Malta is convinced that this is the appropriate way forward and that it will make the European Union a world-leader in the asylum sphere"