Updates with PN statement at 12.15pm

Malta’s drive for a better and more effective burden sharing between EU member states of the irregular immigration phenomenon has not been included in the list of proposals that were put forward by the European Commission on Wednesday.

During the October European Union summit, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had made it clear that Malta is expecting solutions to the crisis by December, and had insisted that part of the solution should be a better distribution of responsibilities.

The proposals made by the commission offer improved measures but they stop short of listing the measures being pushed by Malta, in particular on burden-sharing.

The EU encourages member states to increase their commitment on resettlement on a voluntary basis, but does not impose on them to do so. It only suggests an increase from €4,000 to €6,000 per refugee in financial aid.

The commission also said it would enter in talks with countries of transit or origin to ensure migrants who are not given asylum to be returned, insisting that they go back to the countries of origin. But no concrete proposals on how this mechanism will work were given.

PN statement

The Nationalist Party said that although the government chose to take credit for the report drawn up by the Mediterranean task force on irregular migration, nothing has been mentioned in the report on the reallocation of such migrants to other countries – which is the most important aspect Malta was waiting for.

This was the strongest point of criticism raised by the Labour Party in previous years, and yet now it’s non-inclusion in the report seems to satisfy the Labour government, the PN said in a statement.

The Nationalist Party noted that many of the measures contemplated in the report are a continuation of steps that have already been taken, but includes nothing about burden sharing.

The PN expects the government to keep its word and reach the expectations it built on how Europe should help Malta on irregular migration.