Prime Minister Joseph Muscat yesterday took the Opposition to task over its stance on irregular immigration, saying it had no credibility and that its leader’s argument was one of the most puerile he had ever heard.

Last night in Parliament, Simon Busuttil said the Administration had achieved nothing on immigration, citing as evidence the higher number of immigrants landing in Malta last year.

Answering questions following a statement on last month’s European Council meeting, Dr Muscat said: “Malta took a very strong stand following the tragic loss of life in the Mediterranean a month earlier.”

The meeting had confirmed the need for all the member states to work together on the issue.

The 83 recommendations put forward by Mediterranean countries, including Malta, had all been accepted, and these reflected many of the issues which Malta had raised during the October summit, Dr Muscat said.

There was a firm commitment to implement an effective return policy and those who were not eligible for refugee status would be sent back.

If they did not have documents of origin or their country made it difficult to issue them, the EU would step in so their country of origin would have to receive them.

Repatriation would be the main theme to be discussed in the April summit between the EU and African states. There were encouraging signs of cooperation from Libya, which was part of the solution not the problem, he said.

The recommendations also included mobility partnerships – the management of people who made the journey legally.

The Council of Europe had agreed there needed to be effective solidarity with EU members affected in a disproportionate way, and this, Dr Muscat maintained, was a clear reference to Malta.

He noted Malta had obtained a further €1 million to deal with immigration and another €3.7 million from emergency funds.

Malta took a very strong stand following the tragic loss of life in the Mediterranean in November

The island had been given a definite time frame for the EU recommendations to be implemented in the least possible time, he said, adding that at long last it has been decided that the European Commission would assume responsibility, rather than having to wait until all member states came to an agreement.

“This was a very significant step forward.”

Dr Muscat said these recent developments confirmed that the agreement signed by the previous Nationalist administration had failed. Now, one would have to see whether Malta would be given the assistance it had been promised when it came to the crunch.

Dr Busuttil said the Prime Minister’s statement lacked substance. Dr Muscat had not delivered on anything he had promised and had come back from the October and December summits empty handed.

He accused the PM of turning the sensitive issue of immigration into a political football and of failing to convince other member states to agree to mandatory repatriation as a form of solidarity.

Dr Busuttil described Dr Muscat’s discourse over the last few years on this issue as “bluff” and a string of false promises.

He pointed out that there was nothing new in the conclusions he mentioned. Why had the Prime Minister been so vehemently against the 2008 voluntary burden sharing agreement, when now he was in agreement with the latest conclusions that said exactly the same thing?

Frontex and repatriation had existed since 2008 and yet Dr Muscat was trying to sell the idea he had brought something new back from the summit, as if he had discovered Frontex himself.

Dr Busuttil said the Administration had achieved nothing. On the contrary, more immigrants arrived last year, the largest influx since 2008. Despite all of Dr Muscat’s criticism, 700 immigrants had been repatriated under a Nationalist government but none under a Labour administration.

The only thing this government had achieved, Dr Busuttil said, was the fanning of xenophobia, especially with the now-famous attempt at pushback. The government had a duty to fight this sentiment, not encourage it.

Concluding, Dr Busuttil said with his frivolous comments – such as telling the EU to “wake up and smell the coffee” – the Prime Minister tarnished Malta’s image.

Rounding up, Dr Muscat criticised the Opposition’s argument that since Labour came to power, more illegal immigrants had landed in Malta.

He said the Leader of the Opposition’s stand on the operations of the AFM, when it called into question the AFM’s role in the Lampedusa rescue, was aimed at undermining the future joint operations by the armed forces of Malta and Italy. The heads of the AFM were above suspicion and no national debate was necessary.

While the government was not happy about the immigration situation, he would never let people perish at sea. The government’s position on mandatory burden sharing was clearly set out in the PL’s electoral manifesto.

The Opposition had no credibility on immigration. EU funding for repatriation was stringent. Frontex has been a disappointment and should take a more proactive stand.

With the EU presidency falling under two Mediterranean nations this year, there was a unique window of opportunity for concrete action to be taken.

Dr Muscat said it was envisaged that discussions on such action would start in June but would likely commence earlier.

Turning to the situation in Libya, he expressed hope that the tense and tenuous situation would be resolved, adding that Malta would do its share to help.