Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri has taken aim at the new Migration Pact, after earlier in the day European Union leaders and top officials hailed a major breakthrough in talks on new rules to control migration.
Posting on social media, Camilleri said that the agreement on the Migration Pact between the EU Parliament and the Council Presidency is an attempt at a compromise between those who have long been suffering from this problem and those who aren’t interested in assisting in a tangible way, primarily through relocations.
“Certainly this agreement is not a magic basket through which this problem will reduce or stop.”
“While the Pact strengthens solidarity between countries, there are diverse instances where it will increase the weight on the frontier countries like Malta. As such, the Pact neither offers a balance between responsibility and solidarity, and doesn’t give peace of mind that the needs to frontier member states will be fully addressed,” Camilleri said. “Malta didn’t wait for the Pact to introduce a more just immigration policy, both with those who deserve help but also with those who abuse the system. So much so that this year saw a record percentage for returns to countries of origin when compared to arrivals.”
“Those who are painting this agreement as a solution to migration will need to answer to the European and Maltese citizens in a few months time when the reality would be different.”