Alternattiva Demokratika has launched its position paper on irregular immigration in the presence of Ms Ulrike Lunacek, spokesman for the European Green Party and Austrian Green MP.

Ms Lunacek, who is on a fact-finding mission in Malta on the issue of irregular immigration, said that the European Greens support the notion that this phenomenon should not be considered as local and/or regional, but rather as a European one of shared responsibility.

Ms Lunacek also visited the Safi detention centre in order to have first hand experience of how the situation is being handled in Malta. She has said that Europe must face this issue sooner rather than later, and claimed that Europe must have a holistic policy and avoid actions that may cause economic instability in certain regions of the world, particularly Africa, thereby increasing rather than decreasing the rate of migration.

Party leader Harry Vassallo said that AD is proposing the setting up of a European Refugee Commission so that applications for political asylum will become uniform in the EU. Dr Vassallo also emphasized the European Greens’ and AD’s stand to revise the Dublin II convention, which at the moment gives the first state admitting a refugee applicant permanent and sole responsibility for that migrant, hence creating unnecessary pressure on a small and densely populated country such as Malta.

Dr Vassallo said that the position paper also deals with detention centres, social inclusion and law enforcement against various types of discrimination such as cheap labour.