Migration: PM hails ‘a step forward’

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat did not come out flashing the victory sign after EU leaders endorsed a plan of action on migration but insisted the conclusions were “an important step forward”.

Addressing journalists after the Lithuanian presidency’s end-of-term summit came to a close in Brussels yesterday, Dr Muscat said he was satisfied but “not euphoric”.

“We have not yet arrived where we want but it is a step forward. I am satisfied that the Commission is now responsible to set timeframes and implement the action plan but the proof of the pudding will come in the summer when we start having immigrant crossings again.”

The proof of the pudding will come in the summer when we start having immigrant crossings again

The summit conclusions included an endorsement of the 38 operational actions identified by the European Commission’s taskforce for the Mediterranean that was set up in October on the insistence of Malta, Italy and Greece.

EU leaders also accepted a Maltese proposal to give the Commission a mandate to set timelines for the implementation of the plan.

But mandatory burden sharing remains a pipe dream even though member states that agree to receive migrants from other EU countries will receive €6,000 for each re-located person.

Asked whether he believed the electorate will be satisfied with the outcome, Dr Muscat said people will see the difference between a government that was not triumphalist, but worked hard to achieve significant steps forward, and the previous administration that claimed victory without achieving concrete results.

“The progress we expected from this summit has been achieved but the issue is still far from being resolved,” he said.

Malta will be pushing for changes to the Dublin II regulations to be included in the agenda of next year’s home affairs policy review. The regulations state that migrants are the responsibility of the state that processed their application, effectivelypreventing relocation.

But Dr Muscat said it was an important milestone that “illegal immigration” – the official terminology used in the conclusions – now formed part of the common security and defence policy.

This allowed the use of shared resources such as drones to be deployed on sur-veillance missions on known migration routes, he added.

The summit also approved €8.7 million in funds to be used by Malta on migration related matters. This is in addition to the €10 million Malta received last month.

The action plan includes a clear commitment to have “an effective returns policy” for immigrants whose asylum application is turned down – an average of 1,000 every year.

Malta wants joint return flights coordinated by Frontex, the EU’s border control agency, but more importantly the EU’s commitment to pressure countries of origin to accept the migrants back.

Dr Muscat said of interest was the summit’s conclusion calling for more help to be given to Libya. He acknowledged the difficulty, given the unstable situation in the North African state, but noted that on a bilateral level Italy and the UK were training some 500 Libyan border patrol guards.

“The legitimate concern is the need for certainty on who is being trained so as not to provide assistance to extremists,” Dr Muscat said, adding Malta will also be collaborating in this aspect and details will be announced at a later stage.

Action plan in brief

The taskforce of the Mediterranean presented 38 operational actions on December 5 during a meeting of home affairs ministers. These included:

Partnerships with transit countries, including support to help Libya enhance governance and security.

Consider assisting North African coastal states to build their search and rescue capacity.

Discuss the involvement of countries of departure in maritime surveillance operations with Frontex, the EU border control agency.

The EU should explore opening legal channels that give migrants an opportunity to reach Europe in a regular manner.

Build a comprehensive and coordinated approach to border surveillance operations led by Frontex covering the stretch of sea between Spain and Cyprus.

Strengthen the European Asylum Support Office’s (EASO) role in the identification and screening of asylum seekers.

Member states should voluntarily commit to more intra-EU relocation of beneficiaries of international protection, and EASO should play a coordination role.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com