The concept of responsibility sharing in terms of irregular migration was incorporated for the first time in the European Council’s conclusions at yesterday’s summit of European leaders, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said this evening.

The development, Dr Muscat said in a statement, was an endorsement of Malta’s log-held contention that the issue of irregular migration was not the responsibility of any single country but rather the responsibility of Europe as a whole.

More work in the area, however remains, Dr Muscat said, such as in terms of the repatriation of third country nationals who do not have refugee or other subsidiary humanitarian protection status and agreements with the third countries from which many of Europe’s migrants come.

Malta as an energy hub

Dr Muscat also welcomed the European Commission’s commitment at the summit to begin looking to the Mediterranean as a new energy source over the coming five years.

“This,” Dr Muscat commented, “is important for Malta considering the countries aim to become the Mediterranean’s energy hub. Our vision is for Malta to be an energy hub sourcing energy from Africa and sending it on across Europe.”

EU leaders also accepted Dr Muscat’s proposal for the EU to draft a policy to attract ‘people of talent’ to Europe.  As he said in the post-summit statement, “Malta is already a major player in this respect through its citizenship through investment programme, which has so far been successful.  The European Commission’s next five-year programme will call for a policy to similarly attract talent to the EU.”