(Adds government's statement, PN's reply)
Joseph Muscat remained the only EU Prime Minister who did not agree to form part of the global coalition against the Islamic State, the Nationalist Party reiterated today.
In a reaction to the conclusion of the informal European Council, the PN said that “in the light of the growing threat of the Islamic State in Libya, this is a matter of concern. It shows that when it comes down to it, Joseph Muscat's actions on the fight against terrorism do not match his words”.
The PN welcomed the emphasis being given by the council to the security of European citizens and the need to tackle radicalization saying it was important that member states continued to work together towards eradicating terrorism.
The PN said it was positive that European Prime Ministers underlined the need to urgently adopt a strong and effective European passenger name records directive with solid data protection safeguards as this would help in the sharing of information. It was also an issue that the PN has been pushing from within the European Parliament.
The PN also welcomes the European Council's call to strengthen border control and security within the Schengen area but underlined that any measures taken should not be at the expense of free movement of law-abiding citizens.
The Nationalist Party underlined its disappointment that despite reports that human trafficking was helping fund ISIL's growth in Libya and fears that human trafficking networks were facilitating terrorist movements, the Prime Minister failed to secure any meaningful commitment to combating human trafficking in the Mediterranean.
OPPOSITION TRYING TO UNDERMINE CONSENSUS IN FOREIGN POLICY - GOVERNMENT
In a statement, the government expressed regret that “a member of the Nationalist Party” was, through her statements, trying to undermine the consensus in foreign policy built in the last legislature and in the first two years of the current one.
In obvious reference to shadow minister Roberta Metsola, the government appealed to the Opposition not to allow “this person’s” behaviour threathen the consensus, which reflected the maturity both sides had worked for in the past seven years.
The government said hte Opposition’s statement this morning was irresponsible and showed that it was written by someone who cut off from national reality and also from the reality of the European Council.
The government said it would continue to seek consensus and added that its work was more evident with Italy’s statement that it was willing to take part in a UN mission in Libya, something the Prime Minister had been working for for the past year.
PN'S REPLY
In a reply, the PN said it was prepared to form part of a consensus on foreign affairs in the national interest.
However, the government should take a clear stand against terrorism and in favour of Malta's security and peace in the Mediterranean.
So far, it had still not explained why it refused to join all the other EU countries as part of the global anti-ISIL coalition, the party said.