Solidarity must underpin the relations between member states on migration matters, and securing the EU's external borders and this is a prerequisite for any progress on this controversial issue, said Prime Minister Joseph Muscat in Valetta on Wednesday 11 January, following the launch meeting of the Maltese Presidency of the Council of the EU between his government and the European Commission.
"We are one of few countries advocating for burden sharing, taking refugees and asylum seekers from Italy and Greece when we had a huge influx over here. Solidarity is not an 'à la carte' thing, it has to be there in all circumstances. We were advocating it when we needed it and we are doing it when other countries need it", Muscat said.
As of 6 December 2016, Malta had relocated 46 refugees from Italy and 34 from Greece. Austria, Denmark, Hungary and Poland had not hosted any refugee already present in the EU, whilst Slovakia had taken nine refugees from Greece, according to the Commission's figures.
Even so, Muscat saw justification in the request made by the counterparts from the countries of the East, whereby "securing the borders must be a prerequisite for an agreement on burden sharing" with reference to refugees already present on EU soil. At this stage, the external borders of the EU are not all secure, he observed.
Noting a strong convergence of opinions between the Commission and the Maltese government, the President of the European institution, Jean-Claude Juncker, said that the border guard and coastguard agency was up and running with 800 personnel on the ground. We need to make sure that the member states respect their commitments in terms of resources so that the EU's presence in the Mediterranean can be reinforced, he said. He went on to note that the European Asylum Support Office (EASO), which is based in Malta, should also be converted into a full European agency and cooperation with the African countries needs to be improved, for instance by means of an external investment plan.
Putting a fair pricetag on 'Brexit'
Muscat, an out-and-out Europhile, takes the view that the agreement to be negotiated from March onwards with the United Kingdom over its withdrawal from the EU must be fair, but also "less" than a full membership situation. Rarely has he seen the member states as united as on the issue of Brexit. The former Social Democrat member of the European Parliament went on to call for Parliament to be involved, in order to avoid a situation in which it rejects a deal struck without it in the run-up to the European elections of 2019.
Juncker stressed that it would be a major error to look upon Brexit as the beginning of the end for the Union as, he argues, progress is still possible on integration without the British. This is particularly true of the European social pillar, a theme that is clearly close to the hearts of the former Luxembourg Prime Minister and the Maltese Prime Minister.
Earlier that day, the Maltese Deputy Prime Minister, Louis Grech, had said that the British referendum in which Brexit came out victorious had at least had the merit of raising the question of the future of the EU. With elections in several member states, the next twelve months will be a defining moment for Europe, he explained. The European summit of Twenty-Seven, without the United Kingdom, to be held in Valetta on Friday 3 February, will be the opportunity to continue to put into place the roadmap of Bratislava and prepare for the 60th anniversary celebrations of the Treaty of Rome in March (see EUROPE 11626).
These dates will also encourage a rapprochement between the elite and disillusioned citizens seduced by extremist discourse. We need to "stop complaining about people voting for extremist groups and instead focus on their concerns", Muscat said, adding that he feels that one of the root causes of the current feelings of malaise is the insufficient redistribution of wealth produced.
According to a Eurostat survey of November 2016, the Maltese are one of the most pro-EU nations in Europe: 52% of the population trusts the European institutions compared to an average of 36% Europe-wide. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion with Camille-Cerise Gessant)