PM speaks on Middle East, illegal migration

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi this morning hoped Malta will play a direct role towards the achievement of peace in the Middle East.

Exchanging New Year greetings with Malta’s diplomatic corp he said: “Our basic objective remains two sovereign states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in security and peace.”

Malta, he said, would hopefully be in a position to play a more direct role, through its diplomatic representation in Tel-Aviv and that which it was soon to open in Ramallah.

Dr Gonzi also highlighted the problem of illegal migration saying: “Malta finds itself overwhelmed by the phenomenon of illegal migration. The problem gets worse with each passing year.”

He said that Malta called on its European partners to recognise the exceptional problems it was facing and respond with urgent remedial action and longer term solutions.

In the Migration Pact finalised last October, European Union member states agreed to give fuller consideration to the difficulties of those member states subjected to disproportionate influxes of immigrants.

“We are working and will continue to work with the Commission, and in the Council, to ensure that the principle of burden sharing is given a practical and effective implementation in the very near future.

“Malta will also continue to consult with its neighbours on a humane, and yet forceful way in which to tackle illegal migration,” Dr Gonzi said.

He said that as the European Union Migration Pact rightly acknowledged, the hypothesis of zero immigration was unrealistic and dangerous.

“We need to ensure that the migration which takes place does so in an orderly manner that respects the human rights of the migrants while safeguarding the legitimate interests of the host communities.”

Like many other issues, migration was a global phenomenon with different, though often analogous, manifestations in different regions.

On the global financial crisis, Dr Gonzi said that the government was approaching the problem with a two pronged strategy - one aimed at remedial short-term measures, the other at maintaining intact the longer-term development programme.

Photo - DOI, Jeremy Wonnacott