The government should press the EU to intervene in Libya in a UN-led force to help bring the anarchical situation under control, Opposition leader Simon Busuttil said yesterday.

While welcoming the Prime Minister’s declaration of support for a UN-mandated peacekeeping mission and Italy’s announcement of a possible intervention in Libya, Dr Busuttil called for a stronger position to be taken.

“The situation on Libya is a precarious one, driven by anarchy and fighting. The IS [Islamic State] is taking over a number of towns and villages, such as Derna and, more recently, Sirte. Libya is close to us and whatever happens there affects us,” he said.

“The EU should intervene to stop the fighting and ensure that terrorist organisations are not allowed to grow and gain power.”

The government, Dr Busuttil continued, should therefore pressure the EU to call for a UN mandate so that the EU as a whole would be involved in an intervention and not just isolated countries such as Italy.

Italy recently signalled that it was prepared to send troops to the North African state in the wake of dramatic developments involving IS.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said Malta would be offering logistical support but did not have the capacity to commit troops.

Dr Busuttil also urged the government to investigate the Swiss Leaks case, after an international group of investigative journalists revealed that 71 Malta-based account holders had $687.4 million stashed away in HSBC Switzerland.

“This is legal so long as it is declared for tax purposes. Tax evasion is unacceptable. The government should ensure that the position of these people is regularised,” he said.

In a statement, the government said it was working to find out who the account holders were, noting that the existence of such information was first made public in 2010 and the then Nationalist government had unsuccessfully tried to acquire the information.