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Europe’s plans to address the arrival of migrants and refugees risk being undermined by the economic effects of COVID-19, according to one of the nations hardest hit by migration.
The European Commission on Wednesday launched plans aimed at sharing the burden of migration, and member states agreed to resettle people granted asylum or pay to return migrants who were denied the right to stay in Europe. .
But the plan will face challenges.
Evarist Bartolo says that ‘every country must do something’
The governments of Eastern Europe, particularly those of Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic, do not want to host refugees or spend money on their support.
And questions remain about how migrants can be returned to their home country, or what additional support will be given to nations dealing with large-scale migrant arrivals, such as Italy, Greece and Malta.
In an exclusive interview, Malta’s Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Evarist Bartolo, told Sky News that he welcomed new proposals from the European Union to tackle migration.
But he said “the issue is getting more and more difficult.”
“The social and economic consequences of COVID are going to get worse and that will mean that more people are deciding to seek a better life.
“Of the people who arrived here without authorization in the past year, only about one-third are eligible for asylum. Two-thirds are economic migrants.
“When our economy was growing, at one point as much as 6%, we were creating jobs that could be filled by people coming here. That is not going to happen now.”
Bartolo said he knows migration causes “resentment” and the economic effects of pandemics will only make this worse.
But he said the new plans would help countries work together to help solve the problem.
“Some countries will accept asylum seekers; others will help with returnees,” he said.
“Hungary and Poland: we know that they are very convinced not to accept asylum seekers, so they will have to support the return program. Each country will do something different, but each country must do something.”
Despite being a small nation with a population of around half a million, Malta has had to deal with thousands of unauthorized arrivals in recent years.
The government says 3,000 people have arrived last year, and around 4,000 more were intercepted by Turkish and Libyan authorities.
A boy plays the guitar near a temporary migrant camp on the island of Lesbos, Greece
Bartolo wants a clearer commitment to solidarity from all over Europe for those nations that have to deal with the reception of thousands of migrants.
He pointed to a recent dispute with Denmark over whether he was responsible for 27 migrants taken from the sea by a Danish-registered ship.
“When a country like Denmark says it can’t afford to take in just 27 migrants, well how do you expect us to cope? A much smaller country with many times more people to care for?” he said.
“We must remember that we are talking about human beings, who have made a desperate journey and have given a lot of money, perhaps thousands of euros, to human traffickers.
“But we have to be rigorous in the way we assess arrivals. Economic immigrants are clogging the avenues that are open to asylum seekers.”
Bartolo said he would push for stricter border controls in countries like Libya, in addition to expanding the European Union’s ability to intercept ships.
But he also said the EU needs to “work harder” to persuade people not to leave their country in the first place.
“We need a new relationship with African countries so that we can help create wealth where they are, so that they don’t risk their lives trying to get to Europe,” he said.
