Border controls will remain in place even after the Commonwealth summit next weekend as the government considers suspending the Schengen system indefinitely.
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said yesterday the measure was precautionary and the suspension would be reviewed on “a weekly basis”.
Schengen was suspended and border checks reintroduced for the Valletta Summit and the Commonwealth heads of government meeting that will be held in Malta over the weekend.
But the temporary introduction of border controls for the two events has uncovered a racket of foreigners coming to Malta with false passports.
“Until we have more information on this racket and to keep the situation under control so as to stop abuse we should keep the controls in place,” Dr Muscat said during a public consultation meeting held at Fort St Angelo in Vittoriosa.
Until we have more information on this racket
The statement was greeted with applause from a sympathetic audience but in a tweet shortly after, Opposition leader Simon Busuttil slammed the decision: “No way… [Joseph Muscat] Hands off our EU right to travel freely to Europe. We worked hard for it; no thanks to you.”
Dr Muscat later told the Times of Malta that, while Malta did not have to increase its security threat level as some other European countries had done in the wake of the Paris attacks, the government felt it was prudent to retain the Schengen suspension.
He said the suspension of Schengen meant that EU partners like Italy had tightened controls for passengers coming to Malta and this uncovered a racket of people entering the country to apply for asylum or seek work.
“The information we have until now is that most of those caught with false passports were applying for asylum… So far none of the people who came here or wanted to come here had links to terrorism or were wanted by the police,” he said.
The authorities were in the process of identifying these people and the government had asked the Attorney General for advice on how to proceed against those who had already been granted asylum, he said.
Several EU countries suspended Schengen in the wake of an unprecedented influx of migrants earlier this month but the Paris terrorist attacks reopened a wider discussion on the adequacy of the open border policy.
Dr Muscat said that, while the principle of free movement should be upheld, the Schengen system had to be reformed.
He insisted 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.
Meanwhile, the British amphibious assault ship HMS Bulwark was back in Grand Harbour to assist Malta with security during CHOGM. The Bulwark can deploy helicopters and commandos should the need arise. The UK responded positively to a request by the Maltese government to assist in security for the back-to-back summits.
kurt.sansone@timesofmalta.com