Six asylum seekers who are presently in Malta will be resettled in Lithuania, after the country has formally agreed to start the procedure to accept migrants. The Lithuanian authorities have also allocated the necessary funds to cover transport expenses in connection with this operation.
The issue was taken up by Members of the Foreign Affairs and of the European Affairs Committees of the Lithuanian Parliament following strong representations by a delegation from the Standing Committee on Foreign and European Affairs during an official visit to Lithuania in June. The Committee was led by Jason Azzopardi.
The Maltese Foreign and European Affairs Committee said it appreciates the invaluable efforts made by its Lithuanian counterparts and notes that this is a concrete example of parliamentary diplomacy supplementing the strenuous efforts of the Maltese Government for there to be burden sharing amongst EU Members States.
The Committee added that it hopes that this gesture of solidarity made by Lithuania, together with those already made by Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands, will encourage other European Union Member States, large and small, to participate in sharing the burden that Malta is being subjected to with the continuous arrivals of illegal immigrants.
See also:
Minister Frendo thanks Dutch for resettlement of refugees
By Ruth Davies
Feb 5, 2006, 10:42 CET
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