Malta’s prime minister has pleaded for more help from the European Union to deal with a rising tide of illegal immigrants from north Africa, as the bloc’s interior ministers meet on Thursday in Luxembourg to discuss how to help those member states most exposed to immigration flows.

Italian officials help illegal immigrants disembark

Lawrence Gonzi, speaking to the Financial Times, said plans being formulated by the European Commission were “definitely a very important step forward” but expressed disappointment that fellow EU states had not agreed to take on some of the asylum seekers currently landing on the Mediterranean island. Though Jacques Barrot, the EU’s commissioner for justice, has asked member states to show “solidarity with the most exposed states” by agreeing to take on refugees to ease Malta’s burden, all indications suggest interior ministers will opt for a far more limited form of burden-sharing.