Nine migrants who have benefited from international protection, left for Norway today for resettlement.

The migrants, from Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia left Malta this afternoon.

Their relocation was arranged within the framework of the European Union's Reallocation Project for Malta (EUREMA). This exercise is financed by the Norwegian authorities.

The nine migrants form part of a group of 31 persons who have been identified by the Norwegian authorities for relocation following a selection mission to Malta held towards the end of last year.

The Norwegian authorities will in the coming months be assisting the beneficiaries to integrate in their society, a process which was initiated in the past weeks in advance of their departure from Malta.

Although not a member of the European Union, Norway is taking part in EUREMA following a commitment made at the Ministerial pledging conference organised by the European Commission in May 2011 for Member States and Associated countries to assist countries receiving large numbers of asylum seekers. Other European countries have also committed to relocate beneficiaries of international protection from Malta, in the context of the extension of the EUREMA pilot project, or on a bilateral basis.

These include Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland and The Netherlands. A relocation exercise to Germany within the EUREMA framework took place last November, and another to Ireland took place in December.

Home Affairs Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici thanked the Norwegian government for taking part in this project and for its assistance. He said that 360 persons who where granted asylum in Malta are being relocated to other EU Members States and Associated countries within the framework of the extension of the EUREMA project. A further 227 persons had been relocated in 2010 when EUREMA was launched.