Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg expressed his confidence that, in this week’s EU summit, Malta will not be left alone to shoulder the burden of irregular migration.

Dr Borg quoted what European Commission President Jose Manuel Durao Barroso said during his one-day visit last week, that he will appeal to member states not only to participate in Frontex but also to provide concrete help to member states that are on the periphery.

“After all, it is useless to have Frontex without the help from member states,” he said.

Furthermore, added Dr Borg, “I recently spoke to the EU federal Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble who promised that Malta will not carry the burden of irregular migrants on its own.”

Irregular migration, along with the European Constitution, will be on the agenda at the EU summit this week. The treaty is being modified following proposals from France and The Netherlands, which rejected the original Constitution.

During his one-day visit in Malta last week, Mr Barroso spoke of the importance of settling the details of the Constitutional Treaty at next week’s EU summit and appealed to other member states to show a spirit of compromise.

“We need to settle it. I ask all member states to show a spirit of compromise while at the same time committing more to Europe. More than ever, we need a Europe that needs to take decisions in an efficient manner, a Europe that is more transparent and coherent,” Mr Barroso said.

He expressed his pleasure and satisfaction at Malta’s agreement to the Constitution, adding that “we need an EU that is coherent and that can take efficient decisions and we count on Malta to show the rest of Europe that we want to build the EU of the 21st century.”