Malta will table an ambitious proposal for the setting up of a global relocation mechanism as a long-term measure to address migration crisis, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat says in an interview in The Sunday Times of Malta.

The Prime Minister says that while, in the short-term, there must be efforts to rescue people at sea, opening legal channels for migration and reception centres in African countries to combat illegal human trafficking, in the long-term there must be international institutions to address this problem from a global perspective.

“In a certain sense we need to emulate what happened in the post-war years, which saw the creating of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund as a direct consequence of the Bretton-Woods conference.

“We need to have a worldwide relocation mechanism. If need be, Canada has to take migrants from Syria, for example, and Malta must contribute too. In this manner the load would be reduced, and be distributed according to set regulations and mechanisms,” Dr Muscat said.

He noted that the situation was continually evolving with countries like Ghana and Botswana, which were considered as countries of origin up to some years ago, making huge strides and were now experiencing a huge influx of migrants from neighbouring African countries.

On traffic, the Prime Minister said there were no overnight solutions but the problem had been coming for a long time.

"It is a fact that under previous administrations, arterial roads became narrower while the number of new cars on the road has reached 40 a day. Nevertheless, I am not looking at measures to limit vehicle circulation.

"In the short-term we are looking at measures to facilitate and encourage motor scooter use like the ones announced in the Budget, and a better bus service which is still a work-in-progress. For the long-term we are looking at new infrastructural facilities like tunnels," he said.