Malta may take part if new rules are bypassed, Gonzi says

The Prime Minister yesterday suggested Malta might be able to take part in the Frontex missions under a clause allowing countries to bypass the new rules governing the EU's border patrols against illegal immigration, which the island deems as unfavourable.

He insisted that Malta was not prepared to take part in the mission under the rules approved by the European Parliament on Thursday. However, he said that if the countries taking part were prepared to agree to different rules of engagement, which did not place new burdens on the islands, Malta would have no problem participating.

According to the new, controversial guidelines, to be used in future Frontex anti-migration missions, the member state hosting the mission will have to take in all migrants rescued on the high seas.

Malta has insisted that illegal immigrants should be taken to the closest safe port, as laid out in international maritime law, and that this was the maxim observed during the past two years when Malta hosted the Frontex missions.

The new guidelines, which were issued by the Commission towards the end of 2009, were originally mandatory but following negotiations between home affairs ministries they were amended in a way that allowed participants to come up with their own procedures in agreement.

The Prime Minister highlighted this amendment yesterday when he said that Malta would participate if an agreement favourable to the island was found.

"If member states participating in a future mission together with Malta accept to operate under different rules from those in the guidelines, we will obviously reconsider our participation.

However, if the other member states insist on engaging the new rules we will not be able to take part," Dr Gonzi said.

The government had actually abstained when a vote was taken by the EU Council of Ministers, which had to approve the rules together with the European Commission and the European Parliament.

Nonetheless, Nationalist MEP Simon Busuttil moved a resolution to try to block the rules, which failed to obtain the two thirds majority it needed in the European Parliament and the rules went through.

Dr Busuttil lambasted the Labour delegation for failing to persuade the Socialist group to support the amendment but the PL's head of delegation, Louis Grech, pointed out that even some members of the European People's Party, to which the Nationalists are affiliates, voted against the resolution.

The PL pointed out yesterday that the government too had failed to persuade the rest of member states on the EU Council to vote against the new rules, adding that the Prime Minister "did not have the guts" to reject these guidelines.

The Nationalist Party reacted saying Labour was simply trying to pass the buck to mask the failure of its MEPs, which, in the last Euro-Parliamentary elections, had been presented as valiant defenders of the national interest.