Spain non-committal on Malta’s bid to host asylum agency

The Spanish Prime Minister remained non-committal on Malta’s bid to host the EU Asylum Support Agency during talks with Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi in Madrid, yesterday.

The issue was raised by Dr Gonzi in a 45-minute meeting with his Spanish counterpart José Luis Zapatero, within the context of a wider debate on immigration.

Addressing the press after the meeting, Dr Gonzi said most countries, including Spain, were reserving their decision on who should host the agency for the December summit. Poland and Italy have publicly endorsed Malta’s bid.

The agency will be a new institution intended to streamline the differing immigration policies of individual member states. Malta’s offer to host the agency faces stiff competition from Bulgaria.

Mr Zapatero listened with sympathy and understood Malta’s arguments for hosting the agency, Dr Gonzi said, adding he was talking to somebody who immediately understood the dimension of the problem and was particularly sensitive to the human tragedy that accompanied it.

Dr Gonzi was on his first official visit to Spain. The working visit lasted just a couple of hours and was intended as an exchange of views before Spain takes over the EU presidency in January next year.

Earlier, before the talks, Mr Zapatero listed immigration as a priority for the Spanish presidency.

Immigration is a “collective challenge” Mr Zapatero said, adding it was a priority for the Mediterranean region and the way it should be tackled was through the “unity of the EU”.

Mr Zapatero, who faces an unemployment rate of almost 20 per cent in Spain, said economic recovery was also another priority for his EU presidency.

In light of this, both prime ministers agreed talks on institutional reform brought about by the Lisbon Treaty had to be concluded this year.

Dr Gonzi said they did not discuss any names for the posts of EU President and Foreign High Representative, although he added a special summit to iron out the issues would probably be held later this month.

Getting institutional reform out of the way would enable the Spanish presidency to focus its efforts on European job creation, economic recovery and stricter regulations on the financial sector to prevent a recurrence of last year’s crash, which sent the world into its worst recession in 80 years. Climate change was also on the agenda, with Dr Gonzi explaining a one-size-fits-all approach was not suitable for a small country like Malta.

During the press conference Dr Gonzi hinted Malta might have difficulty reaching the EU’s target to have 20 per cent of its energy needs coming from renewable sources.

He said the limited land area and the depth of the sea posed particular difficulties to build wind turbines and erect photovoltaic cells.

“I explained these difficulties but assured Mr Zapatero the government was doing its utmost to reach the EU targets,” Dr Gonzi said.

His words came a day after Resoucres Minister George Pullicino cautioned that if the offshore reef off Mellieħa was not adequate for a wind farm, Malta would be “stuck” and would probably have to ask the EU to reconsider its expectations.

Mr Pullicino was speaking at the launch of an 80-metre-high wind monitoring mast in Mellieħa on Sunday, where the government plans to erect some 18 and 20 turbines offshore at Sikka l-Bajda.

During the meeting they also discussed the upcoming visit of King Juan Carlos of Spain on November 26, during which a number of bilateral agreements are expected to be signed.