May I express my disappointment at the article penned by Minister Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici entitled Illegal Migration High On The Agenda (November 26).

Last April I was one of the first to congratulate the new Minister for showing clout and a no-nonsense attitude in replying to the damaging report by yet another NGO, known by its acronym of ECRI. His reply stands as a model of how the serious government of a sovereign state should tackle the problem of illegal immigration, as well as foreign critics.

By contrast the Minister's most recent article seems to show that he has been drawn into the wishy-washy world of diplomacy and its vacuous language. He speaks of "challenges and opportunities", assures us that the "partnership will be enhanced and strengthened", informs us that the French presidency has "laid the foundation" of a future policy, and surprises us by asserting that in his meeting with Italian Minister Maroni "the point was made that the Mediterranean...must be given its due importance".

At the moment the government, and all of us for that matter, are benefiting from a temporary respite from the endless influx of illegal immigrants thanks to the sea conditions between Malta and Libya during the winter months.

But it will soon be over and we shall start again with the daily arrivals of our uninvited guests from the shores of North Africa - unless, that is, something is urgently done about it. Rather than speaking about the EU Pact on Immigration and Asylum, the Minister should be assuring us that he has plans in hand to stop what Prime Minister Gonzi described last June as "an invasion". The Minister has done a great deal already but the time has now come that we should know what plans there are while at the same time trusting in his discretion on matters of security. We all know that prevention is better than cure and that priority should be given to preventing illegal immigrants from reaching our shores rather than going around begging their own countries of origin or other EU countries to relieve us of the burden.