This week, European Union leaders meet in Brussels for the European Council to discuss a wide array of subjects which are crucial for further development and integration of the EU. There will be discussion on the much vaunted European Constitution and other issues.

There is now a sense of urgency for EU leaders to agree or at least reach some sort of compromise on the new treaty to make the EU more democratic and relevant to its citizens.

But more importantly, this week is an important week for Malta because EU leaders will be asked to pitch in and give Malta a helping hand with the large numbers of irregular migrants reaching our shores – a heavy burden in terms of our limited resources, finances and its economy.

During his two-day visit to Malta, the smallest European Union member state, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso admitted that the problem of irregular migration is a huge challenge for Malta as well as for Europe. He added that the European Union member states needed to do much more than just sit back and watch Malta try hard to cope with the large influx of irregular migrants.

Mr Barroso said the Commission fully understood Malta’s concerns in this regard and said that he will continue to appeal with other EU leaders for more help for Malta.

While some described his words as empty promises or just simply recognition that there is the problem without the clear will of actually doing something concrete to solve it, others felt that Mr Barroso’s remarks gave rise to hope that help would finally be forthcoming.

Undoubtedly, Malta cannot continue taking in more and more migrants while other countries, which are tens and hundreds of times the size of Malta (likewise goes for budgets and resources) just sit comfortable, not caring less about the situation Malta is in.

In Europe, there has always been a lot of sweet talk about solidarity between member states. But what does this actually mean? In the three years that Malta has been a member states, has any country ever gone out of its way to help Malta? Let us be honest, 26 other EU member states have done very little to help the smallest EU country to solve a problem which is clearly spiralling out of control.

And what about Libya? Mr Barroso said that Libya have been asked to participate in the Frontex patrols and expressed his hope that the country sends a representative to this operation. But, we ask, is there the will? Can the EU expect Libya to control its entire coast? What does the EU - or Malta for that matter - expect Libya to do?

The crux of the matter is that the European Commission president seems to be on our side. He said he understands the frustration of the Maltese population, which is already too large for the size of the country. He even remarked that the search and rescue area that Malta is responsible for is as big as the United Kingdom’s landmass. He promised to continue making Malta’s case with EU leaders in order for help to come this way.

We understand that the EU Commission per se can do very little because it has no planes or boats, as Mr Barroso kindly reminded us. But the good news for Malta is we have an EU Commission president who promised to continue pushing for a little help from countries we expect and hope we could continue calling our friends.