Migration is a humanitarian concern and not a security issue according to a European non-governmental organisation that brings together more than 300 cities.

The European Forum for Urban Security, which includes Zebbug, today approved a resolution calling for greater European solidarity with border cities and towns that face the brunt of migration flows.

Forum president Guilherme Pinto acknowledged that migration was generally perceived as a security threat by people in border countries but insisted this was not correct. He said the way to fight this perception was for greater solidarity between countries and the encouragement of voluntary organisations to engage with migrant communities.

The executive committee of the forum started meeting in Malta today and will continue doing so tomorrow. The meeting was hosted by the Zebbug council that joined the forum last year.

Zebbug mayor Alfred Grixti told timesofmalta.com that when the forum was discussing migration last year he urged participants to come to Malta before adopting any resolution on the matter.

"Getting a good picture of what migration means to Europe will not be complete without Malta being put in the picture. Zebbug does not have a migration problem like other Maltese towns but we felt it is an issue affecting Malta and we are pleased with the reaction of fellow members," he said.

Mr Grixti said migration was a European problem and it would be wrong to see it as an issue affecting only border countries. While urging a humanitarian approach, he insisted that more solidarity must be shown with towns and cities that face waves of migrants in short time spans.