Maroni slams Frontex inaction.
Comments made this morning in Brussels by Italy’s Interior Minister Roberto Maroni do not augur well for a positive conclusion of today’s Justice and Home Affairs meeting in Brussels in which pledges are expected to be made by EU member states with regards to their participation in the pilot project designed by the Commission to offload the burden of migrants from Malta.
Mr Maroni once again slammed the EU and its member states for their 'inaction' with regards to the evolving situation in the southern Mediterranean area.
He said that despite the promises last month, Frontex had not even started discussing the possibilities of patrolling the Tunisian coast together with the authorities in Tunisia.
Last month Mr Maroni questioned Italy’s membership of the EU following a tense Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting in which member states botched Italy’s and Malta’s demand to trigger the solidarity mechanism to help Malta and Italy cope with a wave of illegal immigration from North Africa.
Malta’s Interior Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici did not give any comments on his way to the Council.
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Sean Grima
May 13th 2011, 09:16
indeed, fools never differ.
Ms Louise Vella
May 12th 2011, 14:57
It's time Frontex was strengthened and turned into a coastguard.
Mr Carmelo Micallef
May 12th 2011, 15:44
This is a good constructive suggestion that should muster cross party support here in Malta, plus the support of France, Italy, Greece and Spain for sure......lets move the EU onto the next step.... an EU Coastguard
Mr Malcolm Seychell
May 12th 2011, 13:12
We should get him to be our interior Minister. He is the best Interior minister in Europe.
Carm the usual staff - no comment jew jghid x jghidulu l NGOS
Colin Stanley
May 12th 2011, 13:46
I wonder who the clowns really are. !!! and another thing as I asked before, all these immigrants who worked in Libya all these years, is it not safer and cheaper for them,to move into another part of Africa, where there is no fighting, then risk their lives crossing the sea into Europe. can someone please explain ,the logic behind this.
Mr carmel callus
May 12th 2011, 12:08
If Morroni does not like the EU, then first and foremost, he should not attend its meeting...but then he's a clown!
Mr Paul Joseph Mifsud
May 12th 2011, 13:21
Marroni may have extreme right tendencies but he certainly is no clown. He has the guts to speak the hard and bitter truth that does not go down well with EU leaders who, for selfish considerations, only pay lip service to the highly-exalted principle of burden sharing. It is time that our government takes a hard line stand with the EU about this matter. Given the limited size of our physical and financial resources, the EU cannot expect us to bear the lion's share to house waves of illegal immigrants.
Mr Callus, why is Frontex still deliberating about patrolling the Libyan and Tunisian coasts to ward off boatloads of so-called refugees?
Do you honestly believe that these are bona fide refugees? If so, why do they destroy their identification documents? They are economic migrants, no more and no less, seeking easy life pastures in European countries.
The so-called solidarity that EU member States proclaim has become a joke. If Marroni has the guts to slam the EU for its inaction in the face of this mushrooming grave crisis, then he is to be admired and respected rather than being labelled a clown.
Mr Carmelo Micallef
May 12th 2011, 14:40
The 'Clown' Moroni has the support of Joseph Muscat and Norman Lowell.
In the meantime Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici and Simon Busutill are in a specially arranged EU meeting this afternoon for all EU states to assist Malta in its cureent immigration situation.
The difference between responsible adults and 'Hollow Men'
Colin Stanley
May 12th 2011, 16:23
Dream on, Mr. Micallef. to morrow you can tell us how many illegal immigrants the EU. is going to take from Malta.