Former Prime Minister Alfred Sant told Greek TV Station ALPHA that immigration is a European problem which is being hived off to the smaller states of the South. “We have to push the big guys to come up with a European solution which can be implemented by everybody. Now Greece is in the forefront but Malta and Italy could become in the forefront overnight through Libya for instance and we don’t get European action. Europe needs to get the top guys together to do the good things they have to do. We can’t have Germany pushing one way, France pushing the other way, Italy not being in the picture and then small countries like Greece, Malta, Bulgaria just having to carry the burden..” emphasised Dr. Sant.
The Maltese MEP said there is no good faith in Europe on this question. People are being pushed away from Turkey, from Greece and from the Balkans. “The whole point is: can there be a European solution to that? But for there to be a European solution, there has to be good faith between the North and the South. I don’t think there is that good faith. This is a political problem. I come from a Mediterranean island myself, Malta. So I can understand the problems that Greek islands are facing with this huge influx of people coming over. People need help and need also to be organised. You cannot do it overnight in a small island. You need time and resources and the resources cannot be just pushed like that in a small island. They can’t.”
Dr. Sant said Greece and Turkey, both allies within NATO, have complimentary interests on this issue. Both are at the border; Turkey at the border of Syria, Greece at the border of the European Union. “The whole situation is going from bad to worse because there is no real plan, no real agreement on good faith within the EU. The Germans want something, the Austrians want something, the Italians want something else – everybody wants something different. They only want the refugees outside of their system. If it is somebody else’s problem, no problem.”
Dr. Sant recalled that seven years ago nobody listened to Malta when refugees, crossing from North Africa were stopping in Malta and Lampedusa. “This is the real problem in Europe; people do not want to deal with it if it is in somebody else’s garden. They only care when its their problem ... We have to come out with parameters on a European basis as to how many migrants Europe would want to take, legal migration – how it is going to be organised, refugee systems – how they are going to be organised – a reform of the Dublin 2 agreement.”
The Maltese MEP said Dublin 2 agreement means that theoratically when people come to Greece as refugees, they have to stay in Greece. When they come to Malta, they have to stay in Malta. “That is really crazy, crazy. And still that hasn’t yet been changed. If Germany wants to ask refugees to come over, and they will come over, what kind of parameters are being set for them in terms of numbers, in terms of time-scales. And this is where Europe is failing. We must plan on a European basis, how many migrants, what kind of resources, where are they going to be placed on a macro basis. You cannot blame Greece because it can’t handle these hundreds of thousands of migrants. How can Greece handle these hundreds of thousands on a daily basis? It can’t! And all this shifting of blaming Greece is just another feather to cover the real problem – lack of a real plan – call it solidarity if you like – that is nationally accepted and nationally implemented.” Dr. Sant told the Greek TV Station.
You can follow Dr. Sant’s comments on this link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSY5TKoWsLY