The electricity interconnector between Italy and Malta is expected to be fully operational within two to three weeks, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said in Parliament.

It had originally been earmarked to start operating in June.

Dr Muscat was replying to questions from Opposition leader Simon Busuttil following his statement on the conclusions of last week’s meeting of the Council of European Heads of State in Brussels.

A cross-section of the cable.

He confirmed that tests on the interconnector were under way but the fact that operations had not started yesterday did not mean there was any damage, just problems. Enemalta staff were working on these problems in a job that to them was unprecedented.

To Dr Busuttil’s comment that the document on the EU’s Energy Policy had not mentioned Malta, Dr Muscat said the policy mentioned recent agreements that had already been concluded. The interconnector between Italy and Malta was still to materialise.

The Energy Policy put the greatest priority on interconnections with peripheral regions, including Malta, but noted that commercial gas supply contracts needed to guarantee commercial sensitivity.

As for the situation on Libya, the Prime Minister said the outcome of the Council meeting was that, as soon as agreement in Libya was reached, the EU stood ready to take action to help.

“The feeling at the Council was that everything should be coordinated through the United Nations.

“Giving strong backing to [EU High Representative] Federica Mogherini and [UN Special Representative in Libya] Bernardino Leon was a very sensible line to take by the EU.

“It was a very strong signal, pledging full use of all the EU’s instruments, meaning the Common Foreign and Security Policy agreed by the foreign ministers two days before,” Dr Muscat said.

Enemalta staff are working on these problems in a job that to them is unprecedented

This could mean the framework covering rapid intervention forces being used for the very first time.

Ms Mogherini had very sensibly pointed out that nobody could think of taking all of a giant country with a few thousand boots on the ground. If the two rival governments could not come to agreement, tribes could be roped in to implement green zones and green lines.

Of particular importance would be the securitisation of airports and the oil refineries infrastructure.

The Prime Minister said he could not agree with Dr Busuttil that the EU Council had not reached strong conclusions on Libya. On the contrary, giving a mandate to the European Commission for EU operations to take place under the UN was a very strong conclusion.

Dr Busuttil should give political solutions a chance in the realisation they might not be the final ones. There were people of goodwill on both sides but there were others who were not interested in agreement.

Once a government of national unity was in place, a UN resolution would show that it was not a question of any unilateral action by any one state. It should be all of Europe together with the Arab states.

On the purported visit to Malta by EU council president Donald Tusk and Ms Mogherini later this month, Dr Muscat said things were still very fluid.