Carmelo Abela, Minister for Home Affairs and National Security, participated in an extraordinary meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Council, which discussed the current refugee crisis in Europe. During the meeting, the Minister stressed the need for the European Union to take immediate, tangible and comprehensive action in order to properly manage the dramatic spike in migrants and refugees seeking safety in Europe. 

Referring to the package of migration proposals issued by the European Commission on 9 September, the Minister voiced Malta’s support for the “ambitious and detailed proposals to tackle this crisis as fairly and humanely as possible”. He also stressed the importance of effective return and co-operation with third countries on readmission. The Minister highlighted that returns and readmission are a priority area where the EU can make real progress. In this context he noted that the Valletta Summit, which will take place in Malta on 11-12 November, will be an important opportunity to address such issues with African partners. Similarly, throughout the meeting, several EU Ministers referred to the importance of the Valletta Summit in establishing strong concrete actions to address the all-too-common tragedies in the Mediterranean. 

During the meeting Ministers formally adopted the Decision to relocate 40,000 migrants from Italy and Greece. The majority of Member States also accepted Presidency Conclusions supporting the more recent Proposal by the Commission to relocate a further 120,000 refugees from Member States facing disproportionate pressure. Minister Abela stated that Malta is a firm believer in solidarity and that by supporting this Proposal, Malta is offering the same assistance to its EU partners which it has called for in the past when faced with similar challenges.

Minister Abela also highlighted Malta’s support for the other proposal by the Commission concerning a more permanent relocation mechanism to deal with crises, the activation of which could be requested by a Member State facing disproportionate pressures. Malta had long called for such a mechanism for solidarity which would lead to responsibility being shared among all Member States in a fair way. In this regard, the Minister also stated that Malta looks forward to the evaluation of the Dublin Regulation.

Ministers will continue the discussion on the package at their next meeting in October.