No abuse has been identified in the issuing of visas by the Maltese mission in Algeria, the Prime Minister told Parliament yesterday.

Answering questions from the leader of the Opposition, Joseph Muscat said that moreover there had been no protest from the French government about the matter.

He said the visas issued reflected the Air Malta operations in the country.

Earlier in the day, Nationalist Party deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami had called on Dr Muscat to say when he first became aware of allegations of abuse surrounding visas issued by the consulate in Algeria.

“The fact that nearly 7,000 visas have been granted in 18 months should be enough to raise questions,” Dr Fenech Adami told a press conference in Parliament.

He asked the same question to the police and Foreign Affairs Minister George Vella.

The orders from above were always to let them in

“Rather than giving us answers, the Prime Minister has remained silent in the face of a scandal that is damaging our national reputation and undermining our national security and that of other European countries,” Dr Fenech Adami said.

The Opposition has raised concerns that Algerian nationals could be using Malta as a stepping stone before travelling on to other Schengen area countries, primarily France.

Dr Fenech Adami said Air Malta flights from Algeria were completely full on arrival but returned from Malta practically empty.

Concerns about the visa system for Algerian nationals were first raised last January by an immigration officer at Malta International Airport, who warned of gaps in the Schengen system.

“They come here on the pretext of a vacation in Malta, but their true destination is France,” Johan Mula told the Times of Malta.

“My colleagues and I at the immigration department tried several times to stop this abuse but, unfortunately, the orders from above were always to let them in.”

The foreign minister said in Parliament on Friday he had no information of any wrongdoing and that only half of Algerian applicants were granted a visa.