[WATCH] Malta abstained on EU migration pact because it lacks flexibility, Prime Minister says

Malta abstained on the EU migration pact because it lacks flexibility, Prime Minister Robert Abela said on Monday.

“There were points which did not satisfy us enough, particularly flexibility, which is very much needed,” Abela told MaltaToday.

Malta abstained from voting in favour of a historic pact on migration reached on 8 June at a meeting of home affairs ministers. Italy only signed up to the pact after it was given a last-minute concession on its request to leave it up to the individual member states to determine whether a country of return is safe or not.

Home affairs minister Byron Camilleri said after the vote, that he remained unconvinced the deal would be fair for the tiny island-state.

The Prime Minister defended Camilleri’s actions, insisting the deal was not flexible enough.

The EU mandatory solidarity deal asserts that a solidarity mechanism should be established in order to ensure a fair sharing of responsibility and an equitable distribution of effort among member states. 

"The mechanism should include various types of equally valuable solidarity measures and should possess the necessary flexibility to adapt to the evolving nature of migratory challenges," the agreement reads.

Along with Malta; Bulgaria, Czechia, Lithuania, and Slovakia also abstained. Only Hungary and Poland voted against the agreement.

In March, a summit of MED5 countries, a grouping made up of five EU Mediterranean states - Malta, Greece, Italy, Spain and Cyprus - agreed to lobby and step up efforts to repatriate failed asylum seekers. The five countries share similar realities and challenges regarding migration and asylum.