It may have been just the wrong choice of words on the part of Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela but it nearly caused a diplomatic storm with Italy.

The minister effectively said what many have been suspecting, that there exists some sort of “informal agreement” between Malta and Italy that has seen our neighbour taking all rescued migrants in the Mediterranean. He later qualified his statement saying it was more of a “close collaboration” between the two countries.

This ‘clarification’, however, did not change the fact that, although irregular migration from Libya to Europe continued to increase over the past two years, Malta has practically stopped receiving any migrants. So the question remains: is Malta giving Italy something in return?

For years, the two countries have bickered over who was responsible for people rescued at sea. In 2009, then Italian home affairs minister Roberto Maroni even went as far as to accuse Malta of failing to respect international obligations and dumping immigrants on Italy.

Just months after coming into office, the present administration too was caught in a diplomatic flurry with Italy when it refused an oil tanker carrying 102 African migrants from entering Maltese waters. In the end, Italy had to step in to take the migrants. At that time, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had thanked his Italian counterpart, Enrico Letta.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has turned out to be even more helpful than his predecessor. However, Mr Abela’s statement on an “informal agreement” has upset the applecart back home for Mr Renzi as some Italian MPs are now asking questions.

Italian newspaper Il Giornale complicated matters further when it said that through the ‘agreement’, Italy was taking migrants in exchange for oil exploration rights in areas disputed by Malta and Italy.

The issue over exploration rights south of Sicily is long-standing, although, in 2012, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the two countries to provide for a modus operandi on issues such as the continental shelf dispute, oil exploration and, yes, migration.

The Maltese government, not the Italian, has categorically denied the existence of any agreement linking migration to oil exploration. It had to issue an official denial twice to get the message through, although Alternattiva Demokratika remained unconvinced.

That the government has had to struggle to get believed that no covert agreement with Italy exits comes as no surprise.

Despite pre-electoral promises of transparency, the current administration has been generally very secretive in its international dealings, be they commercial or diplomatic. There are unanswered questions on Malta’s relations with Azerbaijan, while contracts such as those over the new power plant, the Henley & Partners IIP programme and even the public transport system remain under wraps. The sudden appearance of a Jordanian real estate investor with ambitions to build a university at Żonqor Point also raised questions on how the government operates internationally.

Such secrecy in government’s operations foments suspicious minds. When Mr Abela referred to an “informal agreement” with Italy, he was believed immediately because this country is slowly becoming used to the government’s preference for backroom deals and private arrangements or agreements.

Already last April, the Prime Minister denied any agreement with Italy and said the new Italian stance on migration was a “collaboration which made sense”.

Italy’s acceptance of all migrants has obviously been a great relief for Malta. If only everything did not have to appear so secretive or suspicious.

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