Opposition leader Adrian Delia has insisted with the EU Commissioner for Migration that all migrants who are not eligible for asylum should be repatriated, and the remaining should be shared among EU countries.

Adrian Delia told Ylva Johansson in a phone conversation that the Nationalist Party did not want migrants to die at sea, but all migrants brought to Malta must immediately be distributed elsewhere, no least because local resources were stretched by the COVID-19 pandemic and migrant centres were full.

The PN said Johansson agreed with the appeals and, with regard to persons deserving of asylum, had promised to work for the setting up of a mechanism across the EU. 

The PN quoted Delia as saying that Malta cannot carry a heavier migration burden than it is carrying now.

He complained that far too little help was forthcoming from other EU member states and pressures from COVID-19 risked turning migration into a humanitarian crisis.

The PN always put people's lives first and would never allow people to die in the Mediterranean. But once rescued, such people should be immediately repatriated or shared among EU states, he said

Malta, Delia insisted, could not be left alone. Effective EU action was needed to fight human trafficking.

The exchange was facilitated by MEP Robert Metsola.