Comments by EU Justice and Home Affairs Minister Jacques Barrot on the standoff between Malta and Italy over illegal migrants have been welcomed by Home Affairs Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici.
Barrot was quoted as saying by Agence Europe that he was delighted that the migrants were safe but the problem remained in that, within the European Union, there had to be much more effective solidarity.
“Certain states that are not as likely to be affected by illegal migration as others must bear a little of their share of the burden by agreeing to accept those migrants who have been granted refugee status,” he said.
“This is a lot to ask and, in the current crisis, it is not easy to persuade governments to agree to share the effort, but ultimately we will have to get there.
The commissioner said he did not want to blame anybody over the standoff but international maritime law stated that those at risk of shipwreck had to be taken to the nearest port with acceptable conditions for receiving them.
“In this case, that was Lampedusa in Italy, but the Italian authorities said that the reception centre at Lampedusa was full. The Maltese authorities said the same of their centre. It's not easy,” he said.
“I understand the two countries' concerns,” he continued. “The Maltese are in an impossible situation, since they have little space to take in even more people. The other European countries have to realise the seriousness of the problem. We have managed to find a solution to this present case … but we have to prevent such massive migration, which, I fear, will lead to many more dramatic situations in the future.”
Mr Barrot said a Commission proposal for a decision on establishing rules on the surveillance of maritime borders was currently being discussed by member states to try to prevent further situations of this kind from happening.
Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici said this was a declaration by Mr Barrot that Malta was correct in handling this matter, in that he said that international obligations stated that rescued persons are to be taken to the closest port of call. In this case, that was Lampedusa.
“This is a certificate that Malta was true in what it was saying all along and that the MV Pinar was legally obliged to take the persons that it has rescued to Lampedusa. This was also stated clearly by the captain of the vessel. People should not be left at sea and Italy was obliged to take these people. That’s what it has done in the past decades,” Dr Mifsud Bonnici said.