EU patrols 'to go ahead'

The European Commission has decided to forge ahead with joint patrols in the Mediterranean in an attempt to stem illegal immigration despite Libya's opposition. A spokesman for the Commission yesterday told The Times that although the EU still wished to have Libya on board, Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini had instructed the EU's border agency, Frontex, to put in place the last technical requirements to start the operation.

However, the spokesman declined to comment on reports in Brussels that talks between the Commission and Libya on this issue have officially come to a standstill.

Libya has been mounting pressure to stop Frontex from monitoring the strait between Sicily and Libya.

The operation, entitled Jason 1, had been scheduled to start on September 7 but was postponed after a meeting between Mr Frattini and Libya's Deputy Foreign Minister Abdulati Alobeidi in which the Libyan side accused the Commission of taking unilateral decisions, saying it would not permit EU boats to enter its territorial waters.

Up till a few days before, Libya was thought to be at last collaborating when it agreed to take part in an inter-ministerial meeting on illegal migration between Italy, Malta and Libya in Valletta last week. The meeting was then postponed at the eleventh hour after Libya indicated it would join the EU sea patrols in return for cooperation on patrols in the desert.

Last Wednesday, Italy and Libya unexpectedly announced they had struck a deal for bilateral collaboration, which includes joint patrols in Libyan waters.

The government's spokesman on immigration Martin Scicluna expressed surprise at the arrangement struck between Libya and Italy.

Though he believes the initiative is positive, he underlined the importance of the EU forging ahead with its Frontex plans nevertheless.

"The two initiatives should run in parallel. And, yes, it's important to have both sea and desert patrols. We have to see what resources Italy and Libya will be donating to the initiative and a lot depends on the operational arrangements.

"There might be some merit in what is being proposed and ultimately it might be helpful for us," he said.

Mr Scicluna, however, expressed his disappointment that Libya had once again maintained its reputation for procrastination.

"Procedures and bureaucratic actions in Libya are slow moving. This is taking a very long time (to solve)," he said.

Agence Europe, a leading Brussels-based news agency, yesterday quoted an unnamed high-ranking Commission official disclosing that talks with Libya on Jason 1 had failed.

"Negotiations have not been closed, and informal negotiations are still going on", a Commission source said, stressing that the EU is soon to "launch an appeal to the 25 to come to Libya's aid" with a view to making its southern borders secure. This is the main passage point for migrants fleeing their country of origin.

The government yesterday welcomed the agreement reported to have been reached by Italy and Libya on joint patrols in Libyan territorial waters.

A spokesman said Malta was conscious of the challenges being faced by Libya on its southern borders and the government has already offered its support to identify assistance to the North African country in this regard.

Malta is in favour of a joint initiative being taken by Spain, Italy and France to table a joint proposal on tackling illegal immigration at the next EU summit, the spokesman added.

It is understood that Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi was informed about this initiative last week during talks in Helsinki with his Italian counterpart Romano Prodi.

Labour Home Affairs spokesman Gavin Gulia yesterday urged the government to clarify whether Malta will play any part in the Italo-Libyan arrangement.

If Malta has been kept out of the agreement, then the government should explain the reasons for this, Dr Gulia said.

"The government should also explain why Italy always precedes Malta in its negotiations with Libya, and why Italy is always first to announce important developments in the fight against human trafficking."

A senior government official, however, cast doubt over the agreement between Libya and Italy.

"Where Libya is concerned, Italy seems to have a different agenda. It's perfectly clear that Libya has been playing for time and with the illegal immigration season tailing off, Libya has once again postponed any concrete measures," the official, who declined to be named, told The Times.

Meanwhile, a report issued by the New York-based Human Rights Watch group this week accused Italy and Libya of forcibly repatriating thousands of would-be immigrants.

According to the report, Libya repatriated some 145,000 foreigners between 2003 and 2005 to countries such as Eritrea and Somalia, where they risked persecution or torture.

Under an accord signed by Italy's previous government and Tripoli, over 2,800 mostly African refugees were shipped or flown back from Italy to Libya without being permitted to file asylum requests, the rights group claimed.