Malta is contemplating retaining the Schengen suspension beyond the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said today.

He said this was being done as a precautionary safety measure until rules were made clearer.

Speaking during a public consultation meeting at Fort St Angelo in Vittoriosa, the Prime Minister said to applause he made his decision in the wake of the discovery of a racket involving foreigners with false passports.

In a tweet replying to Dr Muscat, Dr Busuttil said told the Prime Minister to keep his hands off the people's right to travel freely to Europe.

"We worked hard for it, no thanks to you," he said.

In the wake of the upcoming Commonwealth summit, Dr Muscat reiterated there was no known threat to Malta. He urged caution and vigilance but insisted people should go about their daily lives.

“There is no place for complacency… but there is also no place for paranoia,” he said.

His caution was briefly forgotten by the audience at noon when the ceremonial saluting cannon at the Upper Barrakka Garden in Valletta went off. The noise from across the port startled people but the Prime Minister laughed it off, saying it was only the Barrakka cannon “and not an attack”.

The Prime Minister noted that it was wrong to equate Islam with extremism, adding now was the time to help the Islamic minority in Malta, including the Mariam al-Batool school.

Dr Muscat was taking questions from the floor of the well-attended event on various topics that ranged from pensions to traffic and the more recent Paceville incident.

Dr Muscat said club owners had to shoulder the responsibility of ensuring minors did not enter their premises. However, he warned against creating a police state, which risked pushing the clubbing scene underground where it cannot be regulated.

Responding to the concern expressed online – the event was being streamed live on the Office of the Prime Minister’s website – by an Air Malta employee, Dr Muscat reiterated government’s commitment to ensure the airline is saved.

“Like we solved the problems with Enemalta, we will also solve the problems at Air Malta,” he said.

 

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