Brussels under fire over illegal immigration

The European Commission yesterday came in for heavy criticism over its handling of illegal immigration in the Mediterranean, with its border control agency Frontex accused of not doing anything to save lives.

During the daily mid-day press briefing at the EC's headquarters in Brussels, tens of journalists, particularly Spanish, barraged Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini's spokesman over the latest incidents taking place during the weekend involving migrants stranded on a Maltese tuna pen and others picked up by a Spanish fishing boat in Libyan territorial waters.

The journalists also urged the Commission to start an investigation on whether Malta should have been responsible to take in these immigrants.

Spokesman Friso Roscam Abbing said the Commission is still trying to verify the facts before passing any detailed comments. However, he cautioned member states of their obligations under maritime rules of assisting people at risk.

"No authority or captain of any vessel can avoid the obligation to save people's lives and this is quite clear for everyone. It is both a moral and legal obligation enshrined in all laws," he said.

Asked about Frontex and its non-ability to tackle the current situation, Mr Abbing admitted that the agency's cooperation network launched last week was not working.

"From these two cases it is quite evident that something is not working. The Commission appeals to its member states to show more solidarity and cooperate in such circumstances."

Referring directly to Libya, without mentioning it by name, Mr Abbing said that the EU executive also expects third countries to play their part.

"Cooperation is not working and this is quite evident. We cannot have a situation where other third countries from North Africa continue to allow boats full of illegal immigrants to leave their territories. This is not a situation we can tolerate."

About the patrol missions promised by the Commission this summer, Mr Abbing said that unfortunately Frontex was not carrying out any patrols for the moment.

"There are still no patrols in the Mediterranean as yet. Frontex is still preparing its missions and it will start its patrols in a few weeks' time. We can't tell you when exactly as we do not wish to give this information to human traffickers."

Various journalists accused Frontex of not knowing what to do to help member states and save lives.

Mr Abbing told The Times that the criticism being levelled at Frontex was not fair as the agency has already done a lot in the past two years.

Sources close to the Maltese Armed Forces had told The Times that the operation coordinated by Frontex, to be called Nautilus 2, is not expected to start before the end of June.