Foreign Minister Michael Frendo yesterday took part in a meeting held in Morocco to tackle the subject of irregular immigration.

Dr Frendo is attempting to push the concept of burden sharing with over 60 countries from Europe and Africa who have gathered in Rabat, Morocco, to discuss the problem.

The conference has been convened following a radical rise of illegal migrants flowing to the European Union from the south, including of course Malta.

Tackling the chronic poverty and violence that fuel illegal immigration to Europe is one of the key challenges facing the foreign ministers and representatives at the conference.

The group hopes to agree on joint patrols in the Mediterranean or off the West African coast and on expanding language training and education of potential legal immigrants, among dozens of other measures.

The talks are the first to bring together the countries the migrants are leaving, the ones they pass through and those they are aiming for, said EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner. The migrants’ swelling numbers and high death rate are “just a few examples of the consequences of a failing European policy,” European Parliament member Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said. “Reinforcement of the external borders alone is simply not sufficient.”

The European parliament has lately begun urging member states to adopt a common European asylum and immigration policy.