European states must join forces to secure external borders with a common foreign policy backed by “pooled military muscle”, PN leader Simon Busuttil said.

Addressing the annual new year greetings with members of the diplomatic corps, Dr Busuttil said European leaders were expected to act at a time when people in Europe were feeling unsafe.

“We will be judged by our ability to deliver a truly common foreign policy. If we act together we can get results in countries like Libya and Syria. By standing alone, we will simply render ourselves even more vulnerable,” Dr Busuttil said. As he stressed the importance of Europe having its own coastguards, Dr Busuttil recalled how the internal borders had been brought down in return for reinforcement of external borders.

He said ISIS became a “household name” in 2015, adding that this was “deeply disturbing”. “The family of EU nations is caught between a rock and a hard place as people looked at the EU as unable to act as it was starved from the real powers it needed to truly act in areas of foreign affairs, security and migration,” he said.

Dr Busuttil also warned that the EU would be dealt “a devastating blow” and “an existential crisis” were the United Kingdom to leave.