The cornerstone of a reformed Common European Asylum System must be a revised Dublin system which embodies the EU’s solidarity principle,  Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela told EU ministers at a Luxembourg meeting today.

He said the system at present places a disproportionate responsibility for asylum claims on Member States at the EU’s external borders.

The system lays down that the country where the migrant first lands is responsible for him/her.

“Ultimately, the objective is a solution which prevents disproportionate pressure accumulating in any one Member State and instead ensures a fair distribution of responsibility,”  Mr Abela said.

He said Malta has long called for such a revision and will prioritise work in this respect during its presidency of the Council of the EU in 2017.

The comments on the revision of the Dublin system were made within a broader discussion of a European Commission communication entitled ‘Towards a reform of the Common European Asylum System,’ which was presented on  April 6. Mr Abela welcomed the ideas put forward by the Commission, including the need to enhance the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) in support of the Member States.

He also highlighted the risk of a resurgence of migratory flows in – and towards – the central Mediterranean, both as a result of the EU-Turkey deal which has closed off the Balkan route, as well as improving weather conditions.

He pointed to an increase in migrants reaching Italy in the past weeks and also highlighted the reports of a tragic loss of hundreds of lives in the Mediterranean a few days ago.