EU purse strings are open for member states to hold migrants on boats offshore - under certain legal conditions.<\/p>\n
The statement by the Brussels-executive on Tuesday (1 September) follows Maltese media reports that the government in Valletta intends to spend over 1m a month to detain migrants and refugees on a large Cypriot-flagged passenger ship.<\/p>\n
The commission's comments are a general statement - not linked to the specifics of Malta's decision - noting that people on board must have access to asylum procedures in order to secure EU funds.<\/p>\n
\"This is also related to the place where the activity would take place, as EU asylum law does not apply in international waters,\" said a commission spokesperson, in an email.<\/p>\n
The commission further noted that the money can only be used to finance food, medical assistance, and boat personnel.<\/p>\n
The Maltese government did not respond as of writing on whether it intends to use EU funding to pay for the million-euro a month plan.<\/p>\n
But earlier this week The Shift news, an independent media outlet in Malta, reported the government was trying to finance the project from the EU budget.<\/p>\n
Similar ideas first broached in 2016 by the Italian government, to create so-called floating hotspots, where migrants are screened on boats, failed to gain much support.<\/p>\n
Rome at the time proposed health, security and identity checks on the boats before bringing rescued people on shore for further asylum evaluation.<\/p>\n
But case law at the European Court of Strasbourg complicated the proposals, given wider issues over detention and human rights.<\/p>\n
It is not immediately clear if the Maltese government intends to carry out screenings, or offer those it detains on the boat access to asylum procedures.<\/p>\n
Both Malta and Italy had earlier this year declared their ports unsafe given the pandemic.<\/p>\n
But the scheme points to a wider a problem of how to parcel out people, initially rescued at sea, among EU states.<\/p>\n
For over 10 days, some 350 people were left stranded on the charity rescue boat, Sea-Watch 4 until granted permission to disembark in Palermo, Sicily.<\/p>\n
Such incidents have been occurring on and off since 2018.<\/p>\n
The European Commission is often called to help coordinate the subsequent relocations.<\/p>\n
It says that over 2,000 people rescued at sea were transferred from Malta and Italy to other EU states and Norway between 27 June 2018 and 3 August 2020.<\/p>\n
Of those, some 1,090 were transferred from Malta and 967 from Italy. Another 849 remain to be relocated from both.<\/p>\n
Some 1,251 were transferred after disembarkations that took place in 2019, and 68 were transferred after disembarkations that took place in 2020.<\/p>\n
\"These applicants were transferred to Germany, Spain, Finland, France, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Portugal and Romania,\" said the commission.<\/p>\n
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EU money can be used to offshore migrants on boats - EUobserver<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" EU purse strings are open for member states to hold migrants on boats offshore - under certain legal conditions. Continue reading