Emergency mechanism on migrants triggered

The Government decided to trigger the EU’s emergency mechanism on migration in view of the increasing wave of irregular migrants arriving from Libya. The triggering of the emergency mechanism, administered by the EU’s Malta-based asylum European Asylum Support Office, will be a first for the island. The arrivals appear to follow the average of previous years though the 773 who arrived so far this month are just 19 short of a record for July. A spokesman for the Office of the Prime Minister yesterday confirmed that the Government would be presenting a formal request to Brussels for emergency support. This will be handled by European Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström and, if accepted, is normally passed on for execution to EASO. An EASO official said that if such a request was made it would enter into negotiations with the authorities with the aim of establishing an operation plan. According to EU rules, solidarity support to a member states under pressure may consist of assistance to repair or rebuild its asylum system. However, this does not mean EU member states will share the burden and relocate asylum seekers from Malta to their countries. Instead, the support will...