Talks start with Libya over patrols

The EU's border control agency, Frontex, has entered talks with Tripoli in a bid to secure Libyan involvement in anti-illegal immigration patrols due to take place in the Mediterranean next year.

The Libyans had refused to participate in the first such operation late last summer, dubbed Nautilus, to which a number of EU countries including Malta had contributed resources. Agency director Ilka Laitinen mentioned the negotiations with Libya during a seminar on the EU's common immigration policy held in Brussels by six European political think-tanks including Malta's AZAD.

He said his agency's intention was to convince the Libyans that the EU considers them as important players in the fight against illegal immigration and that they should join Malta and Italy in trying to stem the flow of migrants across the Southern Mediterranean.

Operation Nautilus was held over 15 days last October and involved vessels, aircraft and personnel from Malta, Italy, Greece, France and Germany.

The start of this experimental operation had to be postponed several times to wait for diplomatic efforts by the European Commission to persuade Libya to participate. The bid eventually failed and the patrols had to start without Libya. No illegal immigrants arrived in Malta during the operation.

Mr Laitinen's revelations were in response to a speech by Nationalist MEP Simon Busuttil, a guest speaker at the seminar.

Dr Busuttil appealed to Frontex to start its sea border operations much earlier than they did this year, possibly in spring, and to carry on with them throughout the summer, when the bulk of immigrants land.

"There is a great deal of expectation in my country that, next year, the sea border patrols undertaken by Frontex will be crucial in stemming the tide of illegal immigration. I therefore call on Frontex to make a firm commitment in this sense," he said.

Commenting positively on operation Nautilus, Dr Busuttil said that although this was a step in the right direction the mission was "too little and too late". He added however that the patrols were nevertheless important in transmitting the message that "someone, somewhere, was finally willing to start doing something".

Dr Busuttil also criticised the attitude of certain EU member states, particularly the northern ones, who he said were "shying away from showing solidarity, the most basic principle of the EU".

The Nationalist MEP praised the steps being taken by the European Commission to step up its efforts in the field of migration by setting up four new EU funds entirely dedicated to this matter. He said that an emergency clause was also inserted enabling financial support to be disbursed with urgency in emergency situations.