Malta asks EU for immediate patrols

Malta has called on Frontex, the EU border agency, to "immediately" launch joint sea patrols in the central Mediterranean, warning that the flow of illegal migrants could soon become unsustainable.

It was learnt last week that Frontex is planning to conduct a series of five sea and air patrols this summer in an area off Malta and its surrounding waters as part of a plan to combat illegal immigration.

The EU, however, is still waiting for Tripoli to cooperate before the introduction of the EU operation off the coasts of Libya and Malta.

Foreign Minister Michael Frendo underlined the urgency of the problem saying the large numbers of illegal immigrants arriving here are not only stretching the island's humanitarian responsibilities beyond limits but are having serious security implications, as illustrated by the recent revolts. Hundreds of immigrants broke out of the Safi detention centre last week and walked out in protest, leaving some police injured.

During an urgent meeting at the ministry on Monday afternoon, Dr Frendo made strong representations on illegal immigration with resident EU ambassadors in Malta.

Dr Frendo delivered a written statement to the ambassadors asking them to convey the message to their capitals that Malta insists that the EU delivers the action agreed between all EU heads of state and governments during the December 2005 EU Council.

It is the second such move by the minister in the space of a year.

Since June 20, Malta has witnessed the arrival of over 500 illegal immigrants from North Africa which brings the number of immigrants arriving here since January 2006 to 967, almost double the figure of 473 this time last year.

Relative to the population, 967 illegal immigrants translate into the arrival of 135,380 in Italy and 198,235 in Germany.

This phenomenon has to be confronted through a concrete application of burden-sharing which is consistent with the principle of solidarity, Dr Frendo said.

"I regret to say that recent developments have not been encouraging in terms of tackling the problem from a global perspective," Dr Frendo told the ambassadors.

The minister said Malta has persistently asked for a holistic approach to the issue by ensuring an assiduous and balanced response to all migratory routes affecting illegal migration across the Mediterranean.

The fact that Frontex is concentrating its efforts on the West African route has meant that the central Mediterranean route has become even more vulnerable and exposed. This is an imbalance that must be rectified without delay, he insisted.

Malta, as part of the central Mediterranean route for illegal immigration, was being negatively affected as a result of action being confined to the Western Mediterranean route, Dr Frendo added.

In this regard, Malta believes that strengthening cooperation solely in one geographic area may increase pressure on other migratory routes as international criminal organisations re-deploy their energies on the "softer" gateways to Europe.

Dr Frendo said that Malta welcomes the Euro-African Conference on Migration and Development to be held next week in Morocco, not as an end in itself, but as the start of a long and arduous process.

Malta, however, deeply regrets the selectivity of the invitee list since it excludes other countries that are themselves major countries of origin of illegal migration across the Mediterranean such as those located in East Africa. Malta urges the EU to provide further assistance to member states facing massive influxes of illegal immigrants through the provision of emergency funds and the dispatch of rapid reaction teams to assist local authorities deal with emergency situations.

In this respect, greater efforts must be undertaken vis-à-vis Libya in combating organised crime which comprises such activities as the smuggling of migrants and trafficking in humans.

Malta strongly urged other European partners to take the cue from the Netherlands and Germany which have recognised the adverse impact of illegal immigration by taking some of the refugees from Malta.

"In the face of a multitude of difficulties and constraints, Malta is doing its utmost to deal with the influx of immigrants as humanely and efficiently as possible, and to honour its international commitments vis-à-vis those who are genuinely in need of protection. In the longer term, however, one must appreciate that the current situation is unsustainable," Dr Frendo warned.