PN leader Simon Busuttil today welcomed the fact that a Labour government changed its tone on migration when compared to when it was in Opposition some two years ago.

He said that the PL in Opposition at the time made statements such as we will veto the EU’s decisions on migration while also having gone as far as floating the idea of push-backs when it was elected to office.

Dr Busuttil said that the debate in our country is much more civilised and less hysterical than previous years.

He said that he is disappointed over yesterday night's conclusions on migration over the fact that Malta is not included in the solidarity mechanism and that the Maltese government should have argued this in a more forceful manner, adding that he hopes the Maltese government won’t simply stop there.

“Malta should share the burden of other countries but the formula agreed upon yesterday is not one which is fair for Malta,” Dr Busuttil lamented.

Dr Busuttil said: “When Juncker was in Malta campaigning to be elected as European Commissioner, he made it clear that he would come out with real proposals on migration.

“Juncker did implement the proposals; the resettlement of 20,000 people from outside the EU into the EU, rather than migrants risking crossing the Mediterranean Sea, and on the other hand, in parallel, proposed the ‘internal’ relocation of some 40,000 people from one EU member state – which has a huge burden - to another.

“These proposals were a step in the right direction, but I was disappointed that Malta did not factor in his proposals, only Greece and Italy did factor when Juncker carved out his proposals,” he said.

As for the debate in Europe, he said that it is very sad since instead of focusing on the issue, the leaders of France, Bulgaria and Hungary for instance end up engaging in bickering by trying to brush off responsibility. This, he said, is not music to my ears and makes the EU look ridiculous. Dr Busuttil said he heard this bickering take place first-hand.

He recalled that when he was an EP member he was told by many people to stay away from speaking out about migration since it is a highly controversial subject.

“But this is the reason why we need to explain and speak more about the subject,” he said.

He also expressed concern over the fact that the government was not engaging in discussion with the Opposition to the extent he would have liked it to be on the subject of migration.

PL reacts

Reacting to Dr Busuttil’s comments, the PL said in a statement that Simon Busuttil’s Nationalist Party, when in government, was faced with a migration crisis and did not manage to get any concrete commitments from the EU.  

“Joseph Muscat’s government has managed to reduce the migrant arrivals and also managed to get the EU’s commitment that in the event Malta faced an influx of migrants, it would be given the necessary support from the EU.

“Dr Busuttil’s criticism, that he wants a political consensus on migration, does not make any sense at all,” the PL statement read.

Earlier

PN MEP Roberta Metsola today said that terrorist organisations like the Islamic State can only be effectively defeated by a Libya that is strong and united on every level.

“As much as we can try to square the circle, there are no other real or viable options that will lead to lasting progress other than a home-grown and home-led solution,” she said.

“Extremists and organised crime networks cannot be allowed the space to operate.

“As a trusted partner of the Libyan people, Malta can play an important part in helping to build confidence and assisting the process without imposition. The longer the political status quo remains, the harder it will be to find a solution. Libya, indeed the entire region, cannot afford failure,” Dr Metsola said.

Speaking during the Euro-Med: Evolving realities, shared challenges conference organised by Dr Metsola in her capacity as MEP and Deputy Coordinator for the EPP in the LIBE Committee, she said: “The reason we host this annual conference is to communicate what the EU is doing in the migration crises in the Mediterranean and more significantly to exchange views as to what needs to be done from a Euro-Med perspective to ensure stability in the region.”

She continued: “It is difficult to speak about the challenges faced in the Mediterranean without underlining again the need for renewed impetus to resolve the Israeli - Palestinian conflict.

“We need to reposition the discussion back towards a two-state solution, with both States living with secure and guaranteed borders, recognising each other’s sovereignty and the right to peaceful co-existence.

“The challenges are many - but in my two years as a Member of the European Parliament and for the last months as the Shadow Ministerfor European and Foreign Affairs - I have always held that Europe - every Member State - has a responsibility, along with the countries in the region, to share the challenges and come up with a coherent and concrete response that helps address this multi-faceted crisis.

“Europe can contribute but it will only be able to do so effectively if it acts in unison. The proposals to review the EU's relations with the neighbourhood under the European Neighbourhood Process (ENP) will be submitted in autumn in order to attune it to new political realities, so as the EU prepares to revitalise its engagement with the neighbourhood, it is clear that our challenge is a European challenge not a Mediterranean one.

Migration agreement: A precedent to Malta’s advantage - Carmelo Abela

Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela said that in the coming days, the government will continue to evaluate the outcome of the European Council.

“The Migration issue should not only be the responsibility of Member States but a global issue. Together we should achieve this goal”.  

The crisis in Syria and Libya, together with instability and human rights issue in other countries of origin, means that the current situation is likely to subsist for the foreseeable future, and that EU Member states currently exposed to disproportionate pressures will continue facing such over the months.

“Government considers that not only should the principle of solidarity between Member States be implemented but it also assign importance to the mandatory nature of such an instrument.

 “Minister Abela reiterated that although Malta is supporting EU plans, there will be insistence to include population density as an added criteria together. This will be coupled with a review of the unemployment rate criteria seeing as the 10% unemployment weighting is having an impact of 90% on the number of migrants Malta will receive, since this country enjoys a low unemployment rate.

 “The commission’s proposal is a test for the European Union, a test that we cannot afford to fail. A test of the European Union’s commitment to the Common European Asylum System, for we will never have a genuinely standardised asylum system if Member States exposed to unsustainable pressures are not assisted”, remarked Mr Abela.

In the future due to its geographical location, Malta could easily be one of those states faced by the risk of having a migration situation developing into an emergency. Thus, we cannot continue allowing the criminal migrant smuggling networks to operate with impunity. Cooperation within the Mediterranean region and beyond is a must. It is obvious that no state could tackle this alone. Likewise enhanced cooperation is required in the field of return and readmission. Europe needs to send a strong message that irregular migrants who do not qualift for international protection are returned to their respective countries of origin at the earliest possible.

The Minister concluded that thanks to the work being carried out on a European level on the migration crisis other member states are understanding the plight of countries like Malta, Italy and Greece.  This is an assurance that we are not on our own and if an emergency situation arises in our country Malta can use this precedent to our advantage.