Labour’s spokesman on internal affairs Gavin Gulia yesterday urged the European Union to apply the principle of solidarity by inviting and persuading all member states to help Malta combat irregular migration, both financially and by accepting to take refugees who are already living in Malta on a rotation system.

Dr Gulia made such an appeal during a meeting he had with the secretary of state within the Portuguese Interior Ministry, Jose Magalhaes, who was in Malta on an invitation by the government. Portugal holds the EU presidency.

Dr Gulia explained the impact of the influx of irregular migrants on Malta, saying that the country cannot deal with this problem on its own.