Migrant relocation ‘a priority for Malta’

The relocation of irregular migrants from Malta is a priority, EU funds parliamentary secretary Ian Borg said.

Speaking at a General Affairs Council meeting in Brussels, Borg welcomed yesterday’s approval of the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy mission to detect and destroy boats used by human smugglers operating from Libya.

“However, the issue of relocation remains a priority for Malta,” Borg said. “Without prejudice to the details that still need to be worked out, the fact that there will be  proposals on the table  to deal with emergencies and the fact that there will be an evaluation, a discussion and therefore also a  possible revision of the Dublin Regulation  - something Malta has been calling for – is very positive.”

The General Affairs Council meeting was a follow-up to the European Council’s extraordinary meeting on migration in April in light of two Mediterranean shipwrecks in which over 1,000 migrants drowned.