So far, there was no proof the two Malta-bound Syrians arrested with false documents in Italy had ulterior motives, the Prime Minister said yesterday.

The pair were stopped at Bergamo airport on Thursday while going through security. The Italian media reported that the two Syrian men, aged 19 and 30, were carrying Austrian and Norwegian passports but could only speak Arabic.

Addressing a Meusac discussion ahead of the European Council meeting in December, Joseph Muscat said the matter was in the hands of the Italian authorities.

He noted that both as Prime Minister and as a father he appreciated people’s concerns.

One phone had a picture of a relative involved in the Syrian war, but no IS flags were visible

“We know there is a large number of false documents going around in Europe and we must understand whether these two men were simply travelling to Malta or whether they had other intentions. So far, there is no proof that they had ulterior motives,” he said.

Dr Muscat denied that the men had IS-related material on their mobile phones. A picture of a relative involved in the Syrian war and holding a firearm was found on one of the men’s mobile phones, but there were no IS flags visible. He advised vigilance but said that people should not give in to paranoia.

Later yesterday, Ansa news agency reported that two more Syrians en route to Malta, aged 18 and 19, had been arrested with forged French and Norwegian passports at Ciampino Airport, Rome. There was no suggestion of a terrorist connection.

And last night, the government issued a statement saying local and foreign authorities had smashed a criminal ring involved in facilitating the entry of people to Malta using false documents. It noted that Malta had suspended the Schengen agreement and Italy had enforced airport controls.

Somalis and Syrians had travelled from Italy to Malta and applied for asylum, claiming they were relatives of fighters. Some 30 had got in this way and were being traced. They were not involved in terrorism, the government said.

Referring to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting next week, Dr Muscat reiterated there was no basis to change plans and no credible indications of a threat to Malta. He referred to last week’s attack in Paris, which he said was an attack on European lifestyle. The worst thing to do was to change as a result of fear.

Malta’s take on the UK’s requests

Malta agrees on a call for more flexibility in the EU, however, such flexibility should apply to all and the island was not in favour of a concession for the UK only, the Prime Minister said.

When speaking of the eurozone, Malta did not favour “in and out conditions” where those adopting the euro had to observe more rigid conditions and outsiders enjoyed more room for manoeuvre.

Finally, whatever was agreed upon should not lead to a treaty change and Malta had “insisted vigorously” against such change, Dr Muscat said.