Malta considers participation in EU observation mission in Georgia

The government is considering the possibility of Malta participating in an EU observation mission in Georgia shortly.

The EU mission is expected to include about 200 observers from various member states and Malta will be deciding soon whether to send personnel to help out in the mission.

EU foreign ministers, including Malta's Tonio Borg, on Monday adopted the legal financial basis and the operation concept of the new mission in order to send observers to Georgia by October 1.

The civil mission will mainly aim to monitor the situation with regard to the six-point agreement signed by Russia and Georgia last August and an agreement reached through the intervention of the EU on the withdrawal of Russian troops from Georgia.

According to this agreement, the EU will be deploying observers to monitor the withdrawal of troops from adjacent security zones in South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

EU sources told The Times that about 20 EU member states have already proposed contributing to the mission by sending police officers or equipment. The sources would not say whether Malta is among them.

However, a senior government official said that "Malta is actively considering sending police or army officers to join this mission and will be making a final decision in the coming days". The same official said both the police and the army already have trained personnel capable of participating in such a mission.

Since its accession to the EU in 2004, Malta has shied away from participating in European Security and Defence Policy (ESPD) initiatives. The only exception is an ongoing police mission in Bosnia where two Maltese policemen are participating.

France and Germany are expected to be the main contributors to the EU's mission in Georgia.

Apart from supervising the withdrawal of Russian troops from buffer zones, the EU observers will also be tasked with monitoring the normalisation process for civic government and help ease tension in the region through liaison and contact between the different parties and other confidence-building measures.

The mandate also stipulates that observers will help form a European policy in the region.