Many other EU member states agree with Malta’s call to reform international law to make it easier to deport failed asylum seekers, Robert Abela said on Wednesday.
Abela said the issue was discussed at a recent EU Council meeting and that all leaders present – “around 14” – were keen on the idea. He cited Denmark, Italy, Cyprus and Greece as being among them.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is also drafting a legal framework to ensure only “people who deserve asylum” are allowed to remain in the EU, the prime minister said.
Abela was answering questions about his recent pledge to put reform of the European Convention of Human Rights on the agenda when Malta assumes the presidency of the Council of Europe between May and September.
The prime minister drew significant criticism when he said in parliament this week that Malta would continue to battle in favour of human rights when they are “merited”.
On Wednesday, Abela said his calls for reform concerned aspects of international conventions related to the return of migrants to their home countries.
When asked if unsuccessful asylum seekers have rights, Abela said: “Don’t Maltese and Gozitans also have rights? And doesn’t the EU have the right to decide who can enter its territory and who cannot?”
“If you do not deserve asylum, you should be returned to your country,” he said, adding that current international law sometimes made it difficult to repatriate failed asylum seekers, or refugees who committed crimes.
“Everyone has a right to be treated in a dignified and humane way, but here we are speaking about the right to remain in a country, and people do not have that right,” he said.
Abela said the European Court of Justice’s interpretation of the law makes it even harder to return failed asylum seekers, pointing to Italy’s deal with Albania on processing asylum applicants.
The ECJ is examining the legality of an Italian deal with Albania to transfer migrants to two processing centres in Albania. Last October, it ruled that an entire country must be deemed safe to be classified as a “safe country of origin.”
Abela said he disagreed with that logic.
“If 95 per cent of a country is deemed safe and 5 per cent is not, the ECJ considers it unsafe,” he said.
Abela said Malta endorsed the Italian initiative and has joined it as a party in the case before the ECJ.
He also said third country nationals who commit crimes should be deported.
“How can we not deport them? I am clear that people who commit crimes in our country should be deported, but unfortunately, a series of conventions create massive challenges to do that,” he said.