MEPs in Maltese-led mission to Libya

A delegation of seven MEPs headed by Nationalist MEP Simon Busuttil yesterday started its two-day fact-finding mission in Tripoli to assess the problems connected with illegal immigration.

This is the first time that a European Parliament delegation is being led by a Maltese MEP.

The mission is the result of a recent resolution in which MEPs expressed their concern at the collective expulsions of migrants from the Italian island of Lampedusa to Libya.

MEPs called for the setting up of a delegation to visit Libya in order to assess the magnitude of the problem and to verify the legitimacy of the actions taken by the Libyan authorities regarding the illegal immigrants received from Italy and via other sub-Saharan countries.

Speaking to The Times after arriving in Tripoli yesterday, Dr Busuttil said the issue is as sensitive for Libya as it is for EU countries particularly Malta, Italy and Spain.

"We must tread surely but carefully on this issue and I will be reporting in detail to the European Parliament about what we find on the ground here."

Apart from inspecting many sites connected with immigrants in various parts of Libya Dr Busuttil will also be leading discussions with Libyan authorities over the issue.

He is expected to hold a press conference on the preliminary results of the mission at the European Parliament in Brussels on Thursday.

This is the second delegation of the European Parliament this year established to examine the problem of illegal immigration. The first one visited Lampedusa in September and there will be a third one to Ceuta and Melilla, Spanish enclaves in Morocco. A delegation will also visit Malta early next year.

The EU currently has no formal relations with Libya. However, last October it was decided that a new policy of engagement will be put in place in order to help Libya deal with this crisis.

A technical mission on illegal immigration was undertaken by the European Commission in November 2004. The Commission experts reported that there is no legal framework for treating asylum seekers in Libya, that the Libyan authorities do not distinguish between refugees and migrants and that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has no legal status in the country.

According to the Libyan authorities, 54,000 illegal immigrants of various nationalities were repatriated from Libya in 2004.