A major migration crisis loomed in the Mediterranean unless EU countries pulled together to tackle the problem, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said today.

Addressing the European Parliament on Malta's priorities for the six-month rotating EU Presidency, Dr Muscat began his address with the warning.

He told the EP that there was a need to break the business model of criminal gangs making millions of euros from the inhumane business.

There was a need to create safe passages and corridors to allow for recognised asylum seekers to make it to Europe safely.

He warned that unless the EU took bold moves to tackle the crisis, others who did not have the European project at heart would take those decisions instead.

Malta would be taking a two-pronged approach during its Presidency based on the effective management of borders and the fair allocation of responsibility and burden, he said.

As he highlighted the fact that Malta had been left to face the crisis alone for many years, Dr Muscat said the burden could no longer fall solely on front-line member states. 

Malta has been saying for more than a decade that migration in the Mediterranean was unsustainable.

His government, he said, would have been very popular in Malta had it opposed the migrant distribution mechanism. But instead, the EU's smallest state opted to do its part in solidarity, one of the values at the very core of European identity.

During Malta's Presidency, Dr Muscat said, countries could either dig in their heels or try to understand genuine concerns about the migration issue.

The Prime Minister spoke of the irony of having a former British colony at the helm of the EU during the triggering of Brexit.

He again reiterated that the Brexit deal would have to be inferior to full membership.

“This should not come as a surprise to anyone. It would be detached from reality to think otherwise,” Dr Muscat said.

He warned that no negotiations would begin with Britain before Brexit was formally triggered.

The Prime Minister said the EP should be involved with the Brexit process “as much as possible”.

He said even the fairest Brexit deal could be scuttled if the EP was not involved.

Dr Muscat appealed for all EU institutions to take a consistent approach aimed at safeguarding the European project.

In a scathing speech during the debate that followed, MEP David Casa said those closest to the Prime Minister had opened “money-laundering structures in which they were going to deposit millions”.

Mr Casa said Konrad Mizzi's Panama company was still open and such corruption represented everything the EU was against.

To spatters of applause, Mr Casa said he was proud to be Maltese but ashamed of the present government, which did not represent the Maltese.

He also said the Maltese press had been given limited access to Presidency meetings.

Sven Giegold, from the Greens, slammed Malta for exploiting a loophole that allowed international corporations to benefit from a five per cent effective tax rate. “This is neither social or European,” he said.

Mr Giegold also questioned if Malta was going to cooperate with the EP in its Panama Papers investigations.

Fellow Green MEP Phillippe Lamberts said Malta was a tax haven for multinationals that wiped out billions in potential EU tax revenue.

He noted that tax justice was not on the Maltese Presidency's list of priorities and urged the Presidency to speed up work on anti-money laundering legislation.

MEP Anja Hazecamp slammed Malta for being a “bloody battlefield for birds”. She highlighted that many birds were illegally shot during the annual spring hunt. She said this was unacceptable and went contrary to many international agreements.

Malta, she said, could either be a beautiful paradise for birds or an island run by murderous hunters.

MEP Fabio Castaldo questioned how Dr Muscat said the “illegal” Turkey deal was a model for him.

With tongue firmly in cheeky, British MEP Janice Atkinson said it was odd that tax had not been mentioned as a priority for the Presidency.

She 'congratulated' the Maltese government for having established an offshore tax haven.

“Good for you... and nice to see you again,” she said to Dr Muscat.

MEP Miriam Dalli said that contrary to David Casa, she was not ashamed to be Maltese. She said the Maltese Presidency was a good opportunity to work towards making the EU more relevant to people.

In his closing remarks, Dr Muscat again touched upon the “emotional” and “thorny” issue of migration.

Dr Muscat said if a perfect solution was sought then the EU would be condemned to go round in circles and get stuck in the same rut.

He said he hoped he was wrong about his prediction of a spring migration crisis.

“We either take a decision now or we will have to take a much bolder decision during a crisis,” Dr Muscat said.

On taxation, he refuted the labeling of Malta as a tax haven. The tax system had been thoroughly examined and approved before Malta joined the EU.

Saying he had full respect for David Casa, Dr Muscat said local politics should not be brought to EU level.

Dr Muscat will hold a bilateral meeting and press conference with newly-elected EP President Antonio Tajani, who takes over from Martin Schulz.

Mr Tajani, who is a former spokesman for Silvio Berlusconi, hails from the EPP political grouping.

He was elected yesterday after a run-off with Gianni Pitella, from the socialist group.