Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1294561
8 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 4 OCTOBER 2020 INTERVIEW Malta's problem with immigra- tion has always been linked to the near-impossibility of re- turning failed asylum seekers. How does the new migration pact propose to address this; and can we expect any substan- tial changes in the immediate future? We have very much focused on returns in this pact, because this is an area where we are not performing well enough in the European Union. There is a lot of room for improvement. So we focused on how member states can beef up their internal proce- dures, specifically when it comes to the issue of returns. That is why we are going to appoint a special Returns Coordinator, with the assistance of experts from all member states, to help member states become more effective in their internal return procedures. The other aspect is, of course, the external side. This is why I will be travelling to the impor- tant partner countries to discuss ways in which to make their own readmission agreements more effective. We need to use all the tools that we have at our disposal as the European Commission – such as international aid; trade; Visas; the Erasmus programme; and legal pathways – to find agreements that would be bene- ficial for both partner countries, and also the European Union. And we are ready to do that. On the subject of legal path- ways: human rights NGOs have been campaigning for the cre- ation of hotspots in third coun- tries and in countries of origin, so that asylum seekers can ap- ply for asylum without having to cross the Mediterranean in the first place. This suggestion was not taken up by the Euro- pean Commission. Can you tell us why? The main reason is that seek- ing asylum on European soil is a human right that the EU does not wish to violate. Even on a pragmatic level, however, I think it's an unrealis- tic proposal. Of course, if mem- ber states would like to use their own embassies to process asy- lum applications, they can do so. But on a European level, it's not realistic to envisage that kind of hotspots in third countries. That would lead to a lot of problems in those countries, because I can't see how any of them would be willing to host such centres. And of course, it would also lead to an enormous number of asylum seekers who will have to be relocated among European member states. I can't really see that happening, either. But the problems you describe already exist in EU border states such as Malta, Italy and Greece. Does the new pact imply that these countries will become the 'hotspots' for asylum applica- tion within the EU? No. The whole aim of this pro- posal is to reduce the irregular arrivals, and to open up legal pathways: both for refugees, as well as for migrants who come to contribute to our economy. But the most important thing is to counter human smuggling; and also to address the root causes of migration. Hence the importance of a partnership to fight human smugglers togeth- er with, for example, North Af- rican countries. We've already had a conference to this effect in July; and now we are building on these partnerships… This is not the first time the Euro- Desperately seeking European Raphael Vassallo rvassallo@mediatoday.com.mt European Commissioner for Home Affairs YLVA JOHANSSON is confident that the New Pact on Migration and Asylum - which proposes, among other things, a 'mandatory solidarity mechanism' for the relocation of asylum-seekers – will succeed where past EU efforts have so far failed