A formal proposal for the programme will be presented to member states for approval in September. “Malta and Italy are insisting that [the programme] should be compulsory, in order to force member states to share the burden of the southern EU member states, [EC Justice Commissioner] Barrot said this was not possible under the EU treaties and would therefore have to be on a voluntary basis.”
“The pilot project for a burden-sharing mechanism has specifically been tailored for Malta. Mr Barrot said the project would be operated on an experimental basis in the hope that it could eventually become a permanent instrument of EU solidarity. Specific reference to such a burden-sharing mechanism is also made in the draft Stockholm Programme presented earlier this year by the Commission.”
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MIGRANTS AT SEA 