Relocation agreement is ‘birth of new concept’ for EU – Muscat

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat emerged from the European Council satisfied to see the European Union “giving birth to a new concept” whereby EU leaders agreed that the burden of migration should not always be shouldered by frontline states.

Calling it “a breakthrough”, Muscat said that the agreement reached after a seven-hour heated discussion “is now a concept agreed to by all countries”.

The EU leaders have agreed to the "temporary and exceptional" relocation of 40,000 persons “in clear need of international protection”.

The relocation scheme is not mandatory – and Muscat insists it’s not ‘voluntary’ either. What guarantees exist that member states will take in the 40,000 refugees? The politicians’ word and the Council conclusions, according to the Prime Minister.

“Countries are taking part in the process out of their own free will … and they all agreed to take part out of their own will,” he said.

The agreement was reached after lengthy discussions that saw Italy and Malta against the use of the word ‘voluntary’ while other eastern and central European countries refused to have the word ‘mandatory’ inserted in.

Muscat later on suggested that the text should read that ‘all member states will participate’ in the relocation and resettlement schemes – a suggestion that was later on included in the Council conclusions.

A number of EU leaders reportedly did not want to go back to their countries and tell their voters that the EU had “forced them” into a relocation scheme.

“The political decision was to have all member states on board and it was a very delicate debate given the sensitivity of each country. Hand on heart, I say this was the toughest, longest and meanest discussion that I have witnessed and took part in … and not just at European level.

“When push comes to shove everyone defends his or her own turf.”

Conceding that the 40,000-figure was a non-starter when considering that thousands are rescued by Italy in a few days, Muscat said this summit’s agreement was not about numbers.

Arguing that solidarity “is not à la Carte”, Muscat said it is Malta’s responsibility and duty to take in a number of migrants from Italy and Greece.

“We do not have an emergency, we are not stretched and the number of arrivals has gone down drastically. We are in a position to help out and we will do so. In the past we called on other countries to help us; today we can help others; tomorrow we might need their support if we find ourselves in an emergency.”

Malta is set to take in around 300 migrants according to the original European Commission proposals on the distribution key although the country will still enter into discussions with the European Commission to see how the figure was arrived to.

The Prime Minister agreed that it shouldn’t be Brussels that imposed the numbers on the member states.

The Council conclusions also see the setting up of reception and first reception facilities in the frontline Member States, with the active support of Member States' experts and of EASO, Frontex and Europol to ensure the swift identification, registration and fingerprinting of migrants ("hotspots").

Muscat explained that the facilities would be set up in cases of emergency.