Brussels, 16/03/2009 (Agence Europe) - As he brought his visit to the islands of Lampedusa (off the south coast of Italy) and Malta to a close on Saturday 14 March, European Commissioner Jacques Barrot called for the EU to be “strict” on the problem of illegal immigration and, at the same time, “more united” in relation to migrants, for example, by having a more generous visa policy. On Friday, Barrot visited the Lampedusa detention centre, which has been severely criticised by Amnesty International for the conditions migrants have to face there (see EUROPE 9861). “I was assured that, in Lampedusa, the procedures for political asylum seekers are fully respected,” the commissioner said, reported by Italian press. “There is, however, the problem of where these people will go. We have to find a solution for that issue too,” he said. Then, on Saturday, Barrot travelled on to Malta to visit the island's various detention centres. Médecins sans Frontières announced on Thursday of last week that it was suspending its activities in these centres in protest at the conditions in which the immigrants were living. Saying that the conditions in which the migrants were being held had to be improved, Barrot pledged to make more funds available to Malta, in addition to the money already allocated, specifically to improve the centres. He went on to say he hoped that, with the creation of the Asylum Support Office, a pilot programme to transfer asylum seekers from Malta to other EU member states would be put in place in 2010. “I don't see how else we can proceed. Malta cannot keep taking more migrants without facing insurmountable problems,” he said. (B.C./transl.rt)