New patrolling agreement 'could be a breakthrough'

A new deal between Italy and Libya could just be the breakthrough many have been expecting on the illegal immigration front because, for the first time, the Libyans are accepting to have a systematic joint patrol of their coast.

Italian Home Affairs Minister Giuliano Amato clinched the deal with his Libyan counterpart Abdel-Rahman Shalqam last Saturday in Tripoli. The Italians will make available six Guardia di Finanza patrol boats, which are eventually expected to be donated to the Libyans.

The patrols will be carried out by mixed crews inside Libyan territorial waters; a first in years of talks between Libya and various EU member states.

To date, in fact, Libya consistently refused to entertain the idea of having foreign assets patrol its waters. Yet, on Saturday, the Italian and Libyan home affairs ministers signed an agreement that could bring about just that.

The dates when the patrols are likely to start still have to be released. However, a cautiously optimistic Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg conceded yesterday that the deal could potentially be "a breakthrough".

"I am pragmatic and I would like to see how it will all work out in practice. But this could be a breakthrough," he said.

Labour's foreign affairs spokesman Leo Brincat also hailed the deal a very important one but criticised the government for apparently failing to be a party to similar arrangements with Libya.

"Despite the fact that it had been reported a number of times that the Maltese government was finding it difficult to reach an agreement with Libya on immigration, we always believed that an agreement could be reached and this deal between Italy and Libya proves that good diplomacy can obtain positive results even between Malta and Libya," he said.

On this point, however, Dr Borg said it was unfair to expect the Maltese government to enter into such an agreement for the simple reason that Malta cannot afford to make available, let alone donate, maritime assets.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry has served both Tripoli and Rome with a note verbale offering to participate in the patrols.

In his first comments after signing the deal, Mr Amato said the the patrols will "save many human lives and dismantle criminal gangs" pointing out that patrolling the coast should prove to be more effective at deterring people from making the crossing than the Frontex missions in high seas, which have largely served a search and rescue purpose.