Deputy PM reiterates call for common European asylum system

There is a need to complete a truly Common European Asylum System, deputy prime minister Louis Grech told an EU General Affairs council meeting in Luxembourg on Tuesday.

“We must learn from the European elections,” Grech said. “A successful migration policy which in concrete terms addresses the European citizens’ concerns is a fundamental pre-requisite and will go a long way to restore and revive trust in the European project.”

He said that a Common European Asylum System must include a fair distribution system and mutual recognitions of asylum decisions. It must also allow beneficiaries of international protection to move freely within the EU.

The EU has been working to create a Common European Asylum System since 1999.

Grech also said that Malta supports an EU policy framework to reduce greenhouse gases by 40% below the 1990 level by 2030. However, he said that the policy framework must take into account issues such as economies of scale and specific territorial realities of member states.

“Targets related to renewable energy and energy efficiency should be set at the EU level and not translated into national sub-targets,” Grech said, while calling on the EU to allow for some flexibility in the implementation stages of this policy framework.