Parliament has reached a consensus on the migration crisis, with the government and Opposition agreeing to work together on a humanitarian issue that requires partisan politics to be set aside.

“Reaching consensus on this issue will be a nice way of saluting democracy before we leave this building,” Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said yesterday.

Parliament will now reconvene in the new Renzo Piano building on May 4.

It was not a typical debate in Parliament, which was recalled from Easter recess with urgency to debate the migration crisis following the outcome of the EU leaders’ meeting on Thursday. Members of both sides of the House made emotional speeches about the humanitarian tragedy as the death toll for this year reached a staggering 1,800 people.

Both political leaders praised Maltese compassion, generosity and solidarity despite the anti-immigrant sentiment that sometimes dominated public discourse on the issue. The Prime Minister, however, insisted consensus building should not translate into a code of silence.

“I’m ready to work with the Opposition but let’s not mistake consensus with omertà… Parties that don’t talk about problems become out of touch with society. In that case, we’d be fanning the flames of populist parties. We have to understand people’s concerns too – even those of migrants.”

MPs praised the efforts of the Armed Forces of Malta, with Nationalist Party leader Simon Busuttil describing as “heroes” those who committed themselves to saving lives.

He also thanked citizens, saying: “People expressed solidarity. They showed that while they were worried about migration, the Maltese were compassionate above everything else.”

The Prime Minister gave an overview of the outcome of Thursday’s meeting. Last weekend’s tragedy, he said, had started to change things in Europe. It had declared war on smuggling networks and countries were contributing military resources.

The UK, usually unwilling to get involved with migration in the Mediterranean because of domestic politics, will be deploying the HMS Bulwark, as well as two helicopters and a patrol boat.

Other countries would also be contributing.

The government has received no request from Britain to station military assets in Malta, the Prime Minister said, adding that if such a request were made it would be duly examined. He made it clear no one was advocating an invasion of Libya.

Frontex’s assets will be tripled, though it will keep patrolling the seas just off Europe, about 100 miles from where most of the drownings happen. European leaders also agreed to consider setting up reception centres in safe countries and helping frontier countries process asylum applications.

Recognising the need to involve third countries in the fight against trafficking, the Prime Minister said the summit to be held in Malta between European and African states and other key migration countries would be an unprecedented occasion for Malta to again rise to the occasion.

“Malta can again be a beacon of hope in the Mediterranean,” the Prime Minister said.

Replying to earlier questions by Dr Busuttil, the Prime Minister excluded that there was an agreement for Italy to take all migrants in return for something that in some way compromised any of our assets or our sovereignty. The Opposition leader welcomed Dr Muscat’s more compassionate speech on migration: “He’s realised that ‘wake up and smell the coffee’ doesn’t work. Europe is us too.”

Dr Busuttil said the PN would support every step forward as long as it was concrete action, not empty rhetoric.

“The Prime Minister when in Opposition opposed the immigration and asylum package in 2008 because he said voluntary solidarity was not enough. But this is what he has accepted,” he said, adding that the party was disappointed the solidarity reference in the summit was too weak.

“But we do understand obligatory solidarity cannot be im-posed, because we have been there before,” the Opposition leader added.

The Opposition, Dr Busuttil said, felt there should be reference to long-term measures.

No one should expect the problem to be solved by a magic wand, and the immediate aim should be to save people.

PN Deputy Leader Beppe Fenech Adami: “The real values of the Maltese shone through [in Thursday’s funeral for 24 unidentified migrants]. It was a clear message that the majority is generous and helpful, despite colour, race or creed.”

Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela: “Let’s continue to work to make Malta a bridge of peace and solidarity, but also of dialogue between EU and African countries.”

PN Deputy Leader Mario de Marco: “Our country has a reputation far beyond its size. Our geographical position has made us take some tough decisions, but we’ve always been on the right side of history. We will rise to this occasion too.”

Foreign Minister George Vella: “It was sad that the people buried [on Thursday] were only numbers… unknown migrants. Their only mistake was hoping for a better world.”