Three weeks after their scheduled start, the joint anti-illegal migration patrols between Italy and Libya have still not got under way, according to sources close to the Italian government.
The initiative, which according to Italian Interior Minister Roberto Marini should have halved the arrival of illegal immigrants to Lampedusa and southern Italy by Easter, has not yet taken off the ground because it is encountering "technical problems". Following the final signature of a collaboration agreement between Rome and Tripoli at the end of January, Italy had to pass six patrol boats to the Libyan authorities to be used for the surveillance operations along Libya's 2,000-kilometre coast.
"We are encountering some technical problems with regard to the implementation phase of the joint patrols," an Italian diplomat told The Times on condition of anonymity.
"Our patrol boats are ready to depart from Gaeta (a port in central Italy). However, the Libyans are taking very long to choose the personnel taking part in these operations and to agree on how the anti-migration patrols are to be held. Discussions are still ongoing and we hope that we can move on in the coming weeks."
At the same time, Italy is also feeling the pressure as following violent riots at its over-populated detention centre in Lampedusa last week another 400 immigrants have reached the Sicilian coats in the past 48 hours.
Locally, the issue has hit the political agenda. Just yesterday, in an article in The Times, Nationalist backbencher Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando suggested that immigrants should be deported automatically, something which is against his government's policy. His words came a day after Azzjoni Nazzjonali leader Josie Muscat among other things proposed that the government should force immigrants to work without pay to make up for their food and accommodation.
The matter has also been raised by Labour Leader Joseph Muscat, who accused the Prime Minister of being out of touch with the people following his resistance to Dr Muscat's suggestion to discuss immigration with urgency in Parliament. A date for the debate is to be decided next month.
Recently a detailed position paper highlighting the next EU priorities in combating illegal migration was drafted by Malta and agreed to by the "Quadro" group, consisting of Italy, Cyprus and Greece.
It should be discussed during a meeting of EU justice ministers in Brussels.
Similarly, the AFM Commander, Brigadier Carmelo Vassallo is expected to address a special meeting at the European Parliament on illegal immigration in order to present Malta's case.
However, public opinion is broadly frustrated with the time it is taking for the EU to come up with concrete solutions, fuelled further by recent arrivals of boats carrying large groups of immigrants in a season when they are not expected to brave the crossing from Africa.