Malta stands firm on visas to Libyans

Malta is standing by its decision to issue limited territorial validity visas to Libyans from April 5 even though the European Commission has expressed concern.

Malta must safeguard its national interests and keep its good relations with its neighbours, including Libya, Foreign Affairs Minister Tonio Borg insists.

A person who is granted a limited territorial validity visa is only allowed to travel to countries that accept it. This is wider than a Malta-only visa, which, the minister said, Malta had at no stage stopped granting to Libyans.

Just two days ago, a spokesman for the European Home Affairs Commissioner said he was worried about Malta's stand in light of the diplomatic row between Libya and Switzerland.

However, the government was sticking by its decision to apply new Schengen rules, which would come into force on April 5, to issue limited territorial validity visas, Dr Borg said.

He stressed that nothing had changed since Switzerland barred entry to 188 Libyan citizens, including Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and his family. Libya retaliated and stopped issuing entry visas to citizens of most European countries.

"We never stopped issuing Malta-only visas; this is nothing new," Dr Borg said.

Malta, he added, did not need any permission to go ahead with its proposal that a group of countries would be able to issue visas valid for travel within those same territories.

"If by April 5, the issue will have been resolved, all's well and good. If not, we will simply inform the Commission we will be issuing these visas."

Malta is expected to formalise its proposal at a meeting of the EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday. If all the Schengen countries within the EU agree to Malta's request, the Swiss visa ban will become worthless because blacklisted Libyans will still be allowed to travel in most of Europe.

Through the Schengen agreement, people can travel passport-free between 26 European countries, including some non-EU states. It also allows a member state to deny individual access to the whole Schengen zone.

This week, Malta encouraged other Mediterranean states with commercial ties to the north African state, such as Italy, France, Spain and Portugal, to follow suit. So far, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Slovenia had already expressed interest in the proposal, Dr Borg said. No one should condemn Malta for making such a decision. Instead, they should criticise the country that used it wrongly, he added.

"I think they should realise that it (the blacklist) caused serious political problems for countries."

"We have to do what is in our national interest and maintain good relations with our neighbours," Dr Borg said.

According to ministry sources, about 500 Maltese who travel regularly to Libya have been affected by the ban.