In a meeting between the Socialists and Democrats group in the European Parliament and the European Commission President nominee, Ursula von der Leyen, MEP Alex Agius Saliba called for a strong and clear commitment to urgently solve the migration crisis and for the Commission to provide more support to border countries, such as Malta.

"I expected more from the discussion with the Candidate for President of the European Commission. My colleagues and myself asked a lot of questions, but unfortunately many were either left unanswered or were answered vaguely", said MEP Saliba after the meeting.

"It is imperative for me to get a real commitment from the new candidate for President of the Commission when it comes to the migration crisis. Just this week, 44 migrants were disembarked in Floriana, Malta, which is the second time in a matter of a few days," Alex Agius Saliba said.

"Migration remains a challenge that needs to be appropriately addressed in a spirit of humanity and solidarity. We need a clear Commitment from the new President of the Commission that the current situation in the Council on the EU's asylum reform will be unblocked. We need results and a new revised Dublin regulation, which clearly is not fit for purpose", said the MEP.

"Secondly, the new Commission should provide more investments and financial support to the countries at the frontiers, such as Malta. We need to respond to the particular challenges faced by islands and coastal areas of the Mediterranean and we need tangible solidarity and a common European solution for the fair distribution of migrants. We should also seek to provide more support to countries of origin and transit countries to help them create better living conditions and opportunities. But to do all of the above, we need the full commitment of the new Commission," MEP Agius Saliba said.