Malta adopts 'wait and see' approach on Tripoli 'approval'

Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg has adopted a "wait and see" approach to an indication by Libya that it had softened its opposition to the Frontex patrols off its borders in a bid to curb illegal immigration.

"I think this issue is in its initial stages, and even though it seems to have been raised by Italian Interior Minister Giuliano Amato during a meeting with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, one should wait and see how this idea will develop," Dr Borg told The Times.

The Italian media reported Mr Amato saying after the meeting that Col. Gaddafi was in "absolute agreement" with the proposal of the EU's border agency Frontex, as long as two conditions are met.

The first condition is that the Frontex patrols near the Libyan coast are entrusted to Malta and Italy and that they are undertaken with Libyan collaboration.

The second condition laid down by Col. Gaddafi is that the EU undertakes desert patrols on Libya's borders to curb human trafficking and the influx of Africans into Libya, from where they later depart with the aim of seeking asylum in the EU.

It was during a meeting in Tampere, Finland, that Dr Borg and Mr Amato agreed to put forward the idea of joint patrols between Libya, Malta and Italy. Dr Borg said this idea was also mentioned during talks he had in Malta with the Libyan International Secretary of the People's Congress last week.

"During a meeting I had with Minister Amato in Tripoli this week we agreed to continue pursuing this proposal with the Libyan authorities," he said.

Ministers from over 50 EU and African countries met on Wednesday and Thursday at a conference in Libya on migration flows and development.