The immigration “message” that Malta tried to send to the EU by threatening to push back a group of African migrants back to Libya in July was not well understood, according to the European Asylum Support Office chief.

Emphasising the need for Malta to adhere to its international obligations when dealing with irregular migrants, Robert Visser said it was still unclear what the Government actually tried to do.

“I don’t know whether anyone really knows what Malta’s intention was. Later we saw Maltese spokesmen saying different things that they were considering and that they were looking into various possibilities,” the executive director of the Malta-based office told The Sunday Times of Malta.

Full story in The Sunday Times and the e-paper on timesofmalta.com premium

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