EU talks with Libya must include immigration - Busuttil

Talks for a comprehensive cooperation agreement between Libya and the European Union, due to start today, should must cover immigration, Nationalist MEP Simon Busuttil has insisted.

Dr Busuttil, the vice-chairman of the European Parliament's delegation to the Maghreb countries, said that to date, Libya remained the only Mediterranean country with no official relations with the European bloc.

Welcoming the launch of the talks, he said Libya had the potential of being an important partner for the EU, notably on trade and on energy.

"However, talks must also cover the issue of immigration and no agreement can be possible unless immigration is also included...

"Immigration is a key subject for discussion with Libya and we are still awaiting Libya's first signs of co-operation after more than three years," he said.

Dr Busuttil said that Libya's full co-operation was necessary for Europe to tackle the influx of illegal immigration in the central Mediterranean region and to shut off once and for all a route exploited by criminal networks.

He said that the EU also needed to understand Libya's position since the country was itself facing difficulties as a result of the influx coming through its vast desert borders in the south.

“Cooperation on immigration can and should therefore be mutually beneficial. It could be a win-win situation."

Thousands of immigrants from sub-saharan Africa leave Libya by boat every year in a perilous journey across the Mediterranean.

Some 28,000 are said to have reached Italy this year whereas another 2,500 have reached Malta which has long insisted that it is unable to cope with the influx. Around 500 persons are said to perish in the sea every year.