Immigrants told European Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström Malta was too small and they wanted to move on to Europe.

During a private meeting at the Marsa open centre, several migrants were reported to have told Ms Malmström they were worried about their future.

They joined the chorus of Maltese politicians, including President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, who insisted the EU had to do more to absorb immigrants who ended up here.

Ms Malmström’s two-day visit came to an end yesterday with visits to the Safi detention centre and the Marsa centre.

The media was not invited to cover the visit at the Safi centre and Ms Malmström did not speak to journalists after taking a tour of the Marsa centre where she was shown some refurbishment works carried out through EU funds.

Marsa centre director Ahmed Bugri said that during the private meeting, Ms Malmström promised to continue in her efforts to persuade other EU members to take in asylum seekers from Malta.

More on Times of Malta and the e-paper on timesofmalta.com Premium.