Frontex patrols resume on September 10

Anti-illegal migration patrols off the Maltese coast are set to resume in two weeks' time, Frontex, the EU border agency, has decided.

Sources close to the agency's headquarters in Warsaw told The Times yesterday, that Frontex decided to begin patrols as from September 10, following calls to resume the Nautilus II operation by the Maltese government and by the head of the European People's Party group in the European Parliament, Josef Dual.

"We have decided to act upon the wishes expressed by the Maltese authorities. We are in the final planning stages of the second Nautilus II mission and we should be able to continue with our patrols as from the second week of September," the sources said.

The sources said the Maltese armed forces, particularly through the maritime squadron, will be taking the lead in the operation. However, other member states have already confirmed their participation.

Italy, which in the first part of the mission in July only made a token participation by deploying a small plane, is now expected to have a stronger presence through the participation of its naval vessels.

Other countries that have already expressed their intention to participate are Germany, France and Greece. Nautilus II was stopped at the end of July after a month of operations in the Sicily-Malta-Libya strait. Despite various diplomatic efforts, Libya still refused to participate.

An analysis conducted by the EU border agency on the first phase of the mission, showed that Nautilus II produced good results, with the number of illegal migrants reaching Maltese shores significantly lower than in the preceding months.

Frontex's spokesman had told The Times, that the agency observed a sort of displacement effect and that human traffickers were becoming very conscious of the problem posed by the EU patrol mission.

The sources said the duration of the September mission has not yet been determined although it is not expected to last long, as weather conditions in autumn will be changing and the illegal migration "season" will be coming to an end.

As from the beginning of next year, the EU patrols are expected to start being conducted on a permanent basis. During the last meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council held in Luxembourg in June, European Justice and Security Commissioner Franco Frattini said that Frontex will be given the financial resources needed, so that anti-illegal migration patrols will be conducted on an all-year-round basis as from 2008.