Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/424604
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 30 NOVEMBER 2014 13 'managing immigration'. I want to see concrete action. "And I know you're probably think- ing, 'oh no, she's coming up with burden sharing again'… Yes, at some point that will come up; but that, to me, is just talk. We all know we can only achieve burden sharing if the 28 prime ministers, at council level, ac- cept it. As an MEP I am not willing to wait for those 28 prime ministers to have a coffee and agree, without do- ing anything in the meantime. I want the EU and parliament to work on specific causes of immigration. This is why for example I spoke in favour of the 'Mos Maiorum'." Though it sounds like a Maori war dance, 'Mos Maiorum' is actually a joint EU operation against human trafficking. "The title is completely bonkers, but let's leave that aside. Yes, human traf- ficking is part of what is turning the Mediterranean into a sea for the dead. I'm saying: OK, while those pretty prime ministers sit for a coffee to try and reach a conclusion…. which to be frank I don't see happening… I as an MEP feel obliged to work on the causes now. If we're going to address human trafficking, we need to have the data. I don't want the data to be collected through profiling systems; but we need to know how human traffickers are working, and what their strategies are. "We need to know their countries of passage. We need to identify where they are coming from. Only then can we try and collectively address the problem. Now, I am not naïve; I know that to address human trafficking we need to get all 28 member states on board. Because they are going to have to chip in the finances. But each of those countries suffers from this, too. We see human trafficking on the sea; but Germany would probably see it through passage on land. So we can really do something about this, but we need to get hold of the data." This raises the question: what can actually be done about this, or any other issue, through the European Parliament? One thing we all learnt from recent experience is that EP resolutions are not exactly very ef- fectual. The almost unanimous con- demnation of Malta's IPP scheme last year was a classic case in point: condemned by the EP, yet it went ahead all the same. This may inci- dentally have dented the reputation of the EP, because it became visible that the parliament had no real pow- er to block the scheme… "It also dented the reputation of [Commissioner] Viviane Reding, I think…." Interesting. Is that because she consented to the scheme so soon after the EP censure? "I think so. The commission and the parliament weren't on the same wavelength. Even when she addressed parliament to the result... Although when you look at the requirements, she insisted on an effective one-year residency. Fine, I would have wanted more. But she didn't even get that..." But doesn't this just confirm the perception that the EP cannot re- ally change anything? Coming back to immigration: what has it achieved so far? "It depends on what you would call achievements. Parliament has already passed resolutions asking for burden sharing and a number of things…" Without any visible results… "But on immigration, the EP did push the Commission, especially the foreign affairs delegate, to try and enter into agreements with third countries, which we see as countries of passage, to see whether the EU could help them establish reception centres there. Whether we could es- tablish a procedure for applications to be received there, and then the trip to whichever country would be safe. That would help Malta…" Yes, it does sound like a good idea. But we hear a lot of ideas these days, and very little in the way of action to follow them up. So what's the stum- bling block with this one? "I think the Commission has taken the idea on board, but obviously they would have to debate it around a political negotiating table. Now: can you imagine the EU dealing with Lib- ya today? Who will we deal with in Libya? Maybe in Malta, because we see so many officials from Libya, we think there's a government. There isn't. We can't really deal with Libya on immigration just yet: which is very unfortunate for Malta, as Libya is undeniably a country of passage. "But what about Morocco, Jordan? Jordan has taken such a large number of refugees because of IS. We can do a lot with these countries. But that is why I told you, don't expect me to speak about burden sharing. I prefer to talk about what can be done right now." Interview Apart from representing the PN at the European Parliament, THERESE COMODINI CACHIA also chairs the PN's policy for a, which are meant to herald in a 'regeneration' of the troubled party PN's 'heart and soul'