Having specific agreements every time there was a standoff on migration was no solution and Paris did not want them anymore, the French Ambassador to Malta said.

Malta and France, together with a number of other countries, have struck impromptu agreements on the sharing of migrants rescued by NGO vessels over the summer.

The same countries would probably get involved in other ad hoc agreements in the future, Brigitte Curmi, who despite her surname has no familial connection to Malta, said, adding this was “not fair”.

There had to be a European set-up to address the question of migration from beginning to end, she insisted.

The diplomat called for more permanent solutions to migration concerns. There had to be more coordinated policies in the countries of origin and reforming the Dublin policy, which determined which EU member state should handle rescued migrants, was necessary, she remarked.

We want an open Europe with our shared values to continue

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and French President Emmanuel Macron have worked together on various ad hoc agreements on burden sharing. In one such instance, Dr Muscat had said that migrants aboard the MV Aquarius would be accepted by other countries after lengthy talks he had with Mr Macron.

The relationship between the two countries has “never been so intense”, Ms Curmi noted. Both Malta and France were “like-minded” in their approach to the European values of solidarity, responsibility and democracy, she added.

Some European countries had been driving populist sentiments and Malta and France must stand against that, Ms Curmi said.

“This is not the Europe we want. We want an open Europe with our shared values to continue,” she argued.

On issues like handling the crisis in Libya, the two countries agreed that politicians needed to put all their weight together to facilitate efforts and find a sustainable solution.

“We want to help Libya find stability and have a strong development,” the ambassador said.