Portugal will be supporting Malta
where illegal immigration is concerned and will take in a group of refugees
from the island in the upcoming months.
Speaking with reference to Portugal taking
over the six-month rotating European Union presidency on Sunday, Ambassador Antonio Augusto Russo Dias said illegal immigration is a priority on
the agenda, reported PBS.
Among measures to take the problem across
the 27-nation bloc, Mr Russo Dias said lawful jobs are to be offered to incoming
immigrants, both illegal and legal.
Mr Russo Dias also told PBS that his country will
support “ a kind of burden sharing”, similar to that proposed by Malta at the
end of a European Union (EU) Foreign Ministers Council
in June. The proposal calls for EU states to accept the Maltese proposal for
burden-sharing of illegal immigrants saved from Search and Rescue Areas of
non-EU states adjacent to member states. While saying that “there are technically
difficulties to adapt to the Maltese proposal” he added that bilateral
relations between the two countries are veering in “the right direction”.
In October it is also expected that the two
countries will sign a cooperation treaty against organised crime.
