Malta’s possible participation in the Frontex anti-migration patrols will be decided on a “case-by-case basis”, a spokeswoman for the Home Affairs Ministry said yesterday.

The spokeswoman was replying to questions sent by this newspaper in the wake of the new Frontex regulations which no longer oblige the country coordinating the mission to take in asylum seekers.

In 2010 Malta pulled out of the Frontex missions following four years of participation.

Though it was argued that Malta’s involvement was no longer necessary as migrant arrivals had gone down, the decision coincided with changes in Frontex missions’ guidelines which Malta had vehemently opposed.

The objection stemmed from the fact that these guidelines obliged countries coordinating those missions to take any rescued migrants to their home port. Successive Maltese governments have been arguing for years that Frontex should follow the rules of international law which state that migrants should disembark at the closest safe port of call.

The regulations approved by the European Parliament last Wednesday say that the latter option should be followed except in exceptional cases.

Under the new terms of engagement “member states should respect their respective obligations under international law” during border surveillance operations carried out by Frontex.

They also ban the option of push backs while stipulating that shipmasters and their crews should not be prosecuted for the sole reason of having rescued persons in distress.

The new regulations are set to enter into force by next summer, following the approval of the Council of Ministers.