Home Affairs Minister slams EU migration policy reform: ‘Pact burdens border states’

Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri has slammed the newly migration policy deal, saying it will pile pressure on border states.

“While the Pact strengthens solidarity between countries, there are several instances where the burden on frontier countries like Malta will increase. Therefore, the pact does not offer a balance between responsibility and solidarity, nor does it adequately address the needs of the Member States at the frontiers,” he said on Facebook.

He was reacting to the deal to reform the the bloc’s migration policy, sealing agreement on a vast array of subjects dealing with detention periods, racial profiling, unaccompanied minors, search-and-rescue operations and border surveillance.

He said Malta did not wait for the EU to introduce a more balanced immigration policy which differentiates between those who need, and abuse from asylum.

“Those who are labelling it a solution to the migration problem, will have to answer to European and Maltese citizens in the coming months when the reality is much more different,” he said in a jab at the European Parliament President Roberta Metsola.

Metsola described the legislative coup “an emotional moment” and hailed it as a win for the pro-European centre.

“I come from an island in the Mediterranean and I know what it means to say that we have delivered on the migration pact, probably the most important legislative aspect of our mandate,” she said. “It still remains the number one concern for many, and it’s been over 10 years in the making. It was one of the first issues I spoke about. I never thought it would take this long to negotiate.”