03/06/2020 (Agence Europe) – The European Commission reiterated on Wednesday 3 June that it is in contact with Member States in order to help Malta find a solution to disembark 450 migrants who left Libya and were detained in vessels just outside of Maltese territorial waters. It was reacting to an appeal by SOS Méditerranée, which called for the rescued migrants to be disembarked “immediately in a safe place” and called for European states to re-establish a coordinated mechanism for relocating rescued people in the central Mediterranean, according to AFP. The Commission has provided assurances that it is trying to organise a relocation between Member States as it has done previously under the “Malta Agreements”. While Malta has said it wants to close its ports because of Covid-19, the UNHCR, however, believes that the pandemic is not justification for refusing to disembark migrants. (SP)