The six EU member states who have indicated they intend to help resettle some of Malta's 2,000 refugees pledged to take a total of 100 people altogether, EU sources revealed yesterday.
Although the Commission has kept the number of pledges under wraps, sources yesterday confirmed that only "token pledges" were made and that "Brussels is finding it difficult to convince member states to share Malta's burden".
"The Commission knew from the beginning that this would be an uphill struggle. Although many member states speak in favour of solidarity, this is easier said than done. If it wasn't for France, the only one of the large member states to show interest in this project so far, the number of pledges would be much lower," a Commission official told The Times informally.
During a presentation to EU Justice Ministers last Monday, Commissioner Jacques Barrot said that out of the 26 member states invited to participate in the Malta pilot-project last July, only France, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Luxembourg and Lithuania replied favourably. He urged the other member states to follow their example as this was "a test of their solidarity" with other member states.
The EU under a pilot scheme, is offering EU member states €4,000 for every migrant they resettle.
The Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici put a positive spin on the response, saying it was a step forward and that Malta expected more countries to participate in the future.
But his Labour counterpart Michael Falzon was not as optimistic. He said European countries were only showing solidarity on paper and that the response reinforced his party's call for a tough stance on immigration in the interest of the country.
"We cannot be content with half-baked measures," he said, expressing hope that discussions would continue in the hope that other countries would come aboard.
He said if burden sharing remained voluntary, it would be unlikely to reap the required results. "If they believe in solidarity, other countries should shoulder their share of a problem which is affecting Malta," he said.
Alternattiva Demokratika chairman Arnold Cassola said the news showed there was still not enough awareness, or political will, on part of a number of countries to help Malta.
It is understood that there are between 2,000 and 2,500 immigrants who enjoy refugee or humanitarian status in Malta at the moment.
The French Ambassador to Malta, Daniel Rondeau, seemed to share the views of the Home Affairs Minister. He said this was just the beginning, adding that he would do his best to continue in this direction.
France took 92 migrants last July and Mr Rondeau had said that France would take another 100 next year, but did not want to be alone.
Laura Boldrini, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said people should not expect miracles overnight. "It is a start. We need to continue working and not give up," she said.
According to EU sources, the Commission will now be meeting representatives of member states one-to-one in the coming weeks to try and convince them to take part in this pilot resettlement project.
The sources said some member states like Germany and Sweden have not ruled out their participation. Germany, which usually takes a leading role in such solidarity programmes, is expected to make its position official once next Sunday's federal elections are over.
On the other hand some member states are flatly refusing to take part, including the UK, the Netherlands, Denmark and Austria. "These four member states have made it clear that they don't agree with such a programme as they believe it will serve to attract more illegal migrants towards the EU," the sources said.
Malta is hoping to be able to resettle the majority of its protected persons through this EU project. This will happen only if every member state pledges to take an average of 80 refugees each from Malta.
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