New rules of engagement for the EU's border patrol agency Frontex, which were opposed by Malta, will come into effect after an attempt to block them failed yesterday.
Justice and Home Affairs Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici, who has already declared that Malta had no intention to participate any longer in Frontex missions if the new rules were enforced, said last night the government would now be evaluating the situation following this latest development.
"However, Malta is not willing to shoulder any additional responsibility," Dr Mifsud Bonnici insisted.
The proposed Frontex guidelines had been approved by the European Commission and endorsed by the Council but a resolution approved by the European Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee last week attempted to block them.
The resolution was approved by 336 votes in favour, 253 against and 30 abstentions in a plenary session of the European Parliament yesterday but it was not enough for it to go through because a qualified majority of 369 members was needed.
All the four Maltese MEPs present voted to reject the rules and Labour MEP John Attard Montalto was absent.
According to the new rules, all irregular immigrants and asylum seekers saved on the high-seas during a Frontex mission have to be taken to the mission's host country rather than to the closest safe port. This means that if Malta hosts a Frontex mission in the future, as it has done in the past two years, it will have to take all the illegal immigrants found at sea.
Though almost all the major political forces in the EP supported Nationalist MEP Simon Busuttil's suggestion to reject the rules, the Socialists, the second largest political group, backed the guidelines and were instrumental in tilting the vote.
Despite voting for a rejection and against their group's wishes, the vote of the two Maltese Labour MEPs was not enough to secure an absolute majority in favour of a rejection.
Labour's head of delegation, Louis Grech last week admitted that, despite trying, Malta's Labour delegation did not manage to persuade the rest of the Socialist group to reject the new rules.
The decision yesterday was received with dismay by Dr Busuttil, who lambasted his Labour colleagues.
In a statement, Dr Busuttil said the failure of the EP to reject the Frontex rules - just 33 votes short of the required majority - showed that the Labour Party was incapable of defending Malta's interests.
"We needed the Labour MEPs to persuade the Socialist Group to reject these rules, just like I did with my group. But they failed and were not even able to help us get another 33 votes," Dr Busuttil said.
Labour reacted to these comments later in the evening, pointing out that a "substantial number" of MEPs from the EPP group had also voted against the resolution blocking the new rules.
Efforts to contact Mr Grech were unsuccessful.
Dr Attard Montalto was also unavailable for comment.