Visit by Experts from the Netherlands in relation to Asylum and Immigration Matters

A team of four experts from the Dutch Ministry of Justice and the Central Agency responsible for the management of reception centres in the Netherlands had various meetings with a Maltese technical delegation, led by Mr Charles Deguara, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry for Justice and Home Affairs, between the 6th and 7th September 2005.

The main purpose of this visit was to identify possible areas of practical bilateral collaboration, particularly in the area of asylum and illegal immigration, between the two EU Member States, including the development of joint projects involving EU cofinancing as well as other initiatives related to the effective implementation of the Hague Programme, incidentally approved under the Dutch Presidency of the European Union.

Such opportunities for bilateral co-operation are of particular importance to Malta in view of the recent influx of illegal immigrants. Indeed, the Maltese side emphasized that the smallest EU Member State simply cannot be expected to carry by itself the considerable illegal immigration burden and thus practical and tangible burden sharing initiatives were urgently required in the best interest of all concerned, not least genuine asylum seekers themselves. Acknowledging the difficult situation being faced by Malta, the Dutch delegation reiterated its commitment to identify possible areas of assistance.

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