Malta: Gov't expresses wariness of voting rights for migrants
April 23, 2009
Nationalist MEP Simon Busuttil said today that the issue of voting rights for migrants was crucial for Malta because the country could not afford to give such rights to the 5,200 immigrants currently living here.
"This is one of the red lines that we cannot cross,' Dr Busuttil said at a press conference, pointing out that the last general election was decided by a mere 1,500 votes.
A right-to-vote clause for migrants was included yesterday in a European Parliament report on a common EU policy on immigration. The report was penned by Dr Busuttil, who, however, unsuccessfully resisted the inclusion of the clause by the socialist, liberal and Green groups of the European Parliament.
The Times of Malta
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