Malmström - EU states showing 'worrying tendency' for quick-fix measures on migration

European Commissioner says member states demanding quick-fix measures on migration.

European Commissioner Cecilia Malmström has spoken of the “quite worrying tendencies” of member states to be “too event-driven and calling for quick-fix measures” when demanding action on migration.

Writing in her blog, the Commissioner responsible for immigration said migration policy needed a long-term strategy and well thought through measures and mustn’t be driven by populist movements.

Recent events in the Mediterranean have seen the influx of asylum seekers and other Tunisian migrants lead countries like France to close their borders to migratory movement; Italy blocking access to a Maltese army vessel carrying close to 200 asylum seekers; and Malta and Italy demanding that the EC put into effect an emergency solidarity measure to help deal with the migratory influx.

Malmström has previously noted that the emergency measures were born out of the mass displacement of Kosovars, and said the same could not apply for the numbers of asylum seekers that so far have fled the Libyan civil conflict.

“It’s important to remember that out of the approx. 25,000 migrants coming to the EU the last couple of months only a few thousands are refugees, seeking asylum in the EU,” Malmstrom said.

“The others are economical migrants from Tunisia looking for work and a better life in Europe. These people are likely to be sent back to Tunisia. The few thousand refugees that have been coming the last months should also be seen in the right perspective – last year France alone received 48,000 asylum seekers and Sweden 32,000 – the total number of refugees coming to the EU last year was 236,000.”

Next week, Malmstrom will be presenting a strategy paper calling for the urgent need for a common asylum and migration policy, and “the need for solidarity with the European countries most exposed to migration flows (Italy and Malta at this point), but also with neighbouring countries, such as Tunisia and Egypt, where the lion part (sic) of the refugees from Libya have fled to.”

France has called for an easier mechanism to temporarily suspend Schengen agreements allowing EU freedom of movement as Italy protests immigrant-train blocking.

France’s move follows in the wake clashes between the two EU countries as Italy protested the influx of migrants from Tunisia and Libya into Italy, which then attempt to enter France.

Italy’s decision to grant Tunisians 20,000 temporary residence permits, allowing free travel in the passport-free Schengen zone, has angered France, and last week, French officials temporarily stopped trains with migrants crossing the border from Italy into France.

In an off-the-record but widely-reported briefing, a senior French official said: “The governance of Schengen is failing. It seems there is a need to reflect on a mechanism that will allow a temporary suspension of the agreement, in case of a systemic failure of an external (EU) border.”

Suspension of the agreement is permitted under the Schengen Pact, but only in the case of a “grave threat to the public order or internal security”.

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Antoine Vella see my post to monique and just go and tell it to the marines. It is only those who want to exploit both the illegal immigrants and the Maltese workers by giving the illegal immigrants lower wages and worse working conditions so that they continue to undermine the Maltese workers who defend the illegal immigrants and want illegal immigrants to continue coming to Malta.
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Monique, here are the areas of Malta and Sweden. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_outlying_territories_by_total_area Malta 122 square miles, 316 square kilometres Sweden 173,860 square miles, 450,295 square kilometres The size of Sweden is 1420 times that of Malta population http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population Malta 416,333 January 1, 2010 Sweden 9,422,661 (February 28, 2011) The population in Sweden is 22.6 times that of Malta. So Sweden which is 1240 times of Malta has only 22.6 time our population. Population density http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sovereign_states_and_dependent_territories_by_population_density Malta 1,318 per square kilometre, 3,414 per square mile Sweden 21 per square kilometre, 54 per square mile Population density in Malta is 63 times that of Sweden Don't you think that we are a tiny bit overloaded when compared with Sweden and that European Commissioner Cecilia Malmström and should put her money where her mouth is and take all our illegal immigrants?
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Monique is right: Malta is very far from reaching its fully carrying capacity. We can easily give refuge to 10-15 thousand immigrants. . Only if we surpass the 15 thousand mark will we be justified in asking other countries to take some (not all) of the immigrants.
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monique do you know the size ratio between Malta and Sweden?
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@ Monique. Sweden is so 'politically correct' or was 'politically correct' until recently, that they are make sure the immigration problem remains a 'local' one. Now our Gonzi has been undecided what to do, indeed he has been pussyfooting in his actions on immigration without achieving anything except the famous trumpeted one way ticket 'voluntary burden sharing' !Its no wonder no EU country takes our Prime Minister seriously; his actions and his word count for nothing!
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Let me add to the list Sweden chooses the amount of immigrants it takes every year. In that way it can sort of regulate how many immigrants it can integrate. We can't do that. Immigrants do not want to stay in Malta. Many have family in Italy, France, Germany, England or Sweden and do not want to stay here. Immigrants taken by Sweden are not FORCED to go there. They live there because they want to Sweden has a bigger labor market then Malta. Salaries are also higher and therefore immigrants can help their family in Africa better. Lets face it, in salary terms we're the Tunisia of Western Europe expecially in terms of job considered as unskilled labor. Ill try to add more if you want to
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Monique a) Sweden is much richer then Malta b) It doesn't have the overpopulation, water supply and space problems Malta has c) Unlike Malta Sweden has a colonial past Should I add more?
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Why do you keep insisting on C. Malmström to "take some immigrants to Sweden"? As you can read in my comment below: Sweden has an immigrants percentage compared to state population almost 5 times higher than Malta.
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Dear Cecilia. Have you not given up making a fool of our Minister KMB and our Gonzipn. If you are woman enough just take a couple of 1000 to your beloved Sweden and we'll see what happens. Just have some guts to do this and dont make us the laughing stock of Europe anymore please.
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@-Haha; Cecilia Malmström is a swedish citizen. Immigrants as percentage of state population Sweden : 12.3 Immigrants as percentage of state population Malta : 2.7
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European Commissioner Cecilia Malmström, how about taking them all to your own country and lead by example? Are you another hypocrite European Commissioner Cecilia Malmström?
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EU needs migration. Not this type of migration!