The authorities are not prepared to process a large group of migrants like that left stranded just outside Maltese waters last week, sources in the Office of the Prime Minister have said.

The senior government sources told The Sunday Times of Malta an internal review of the situation revealed that the island could receive and process a group of no more than 180 migrants at a time.

This is a far cry from the more than 600 that could have ended up on Maltese soil a few days ago, when Malta and Italy closed their ports.

“No, we are not prepared. We can manage a group of less than 200, but not any groups of 600 or 700. If a group of that many migrants were to come in, we would have an issue on our hands,” one source said. This appraisal of the situation contrasts sharply with the Home Affairs Ministry’s official position last week. A spokeswoman  said the island had been prepared for a sudden major influx of migrants “for years”, insisting the authorities were aware that boat arrivals could happen at any time.

The ministry’s assurances raised eyebrows among humanitarian workers and NGOs, who told The Sunday Times of Malta how much of the infrastructure involved in receiving and processing large groups of migrants had been dismantled in recent years.

“The centres that host these migrants do not have the personnel they used to, and I would be very surprised if we were able to cope with hundreds, let alone thousands, of migrants over the summer,” said a volunteer, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of having their access to migrant centres revoked.

The Sunday Times of Malta is informed that the authorities have made some preliminary efforts to prepare for a sudden influx, but it was unclear at the time of writing what these efforts were.

The government sources said that one of the main problems the authorities faced was the need to carry out medical screening as soon as migrants arrived on Maltese shores. “This is something that requires resources and expertise. These are currently not in place either, and we will have to really scramble if we are faced with hundreds of migrants.” 

We have been bracing ourselves

Staff at centres, they added, were often seconded to other priority areas – meaning detention centres were currently operating with skeleton staff.

“This is how the sector works. These workers are moved to where they are needed.

“What is the point in having detention centres full of staff and no migrants?”

Another source, who enjoys access to the open centres in Ħal Far and Safi, said that it appeared as though the sites had been neglected.

Those involved in the sector, the sources said, had known for a long time that the situation was fragile and Malta could soon be overwhelmed.

“We have been bracing ourselves for what will happen if a large number arrive and we simply aren’t ready,” they said.

Aquarius nears Valencia

Meanwhile the Aquarius, the ship involved in a standoff between Malta and Italy, last week, arrived safely in Spanish territorial waters. After seven days of sea travel with 629 migrants on board, it was located late on Saturday in the waters around the Balearic Islands of Menorca and Mallorca.

The rescue convoy, consisting of the Aquarius and two Italian military ships, is expected to arrive in Valencia on Sunday, but entry into the port will be staggered until all those on board are properly processed.

As the Aquarius is set to drop off its human cargo, two other NGO vessels on Saturday reportedly carried around 200 migrants off the Libyan coast. 

Italian Home Affairs Minister Matteo Salvini was quick to insist the vessels, like the Aquarius, would not be allowed in any Italian ports, meaning a second Malta-Italy standoff in as many weeks could be on the cards.

Foreign Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela met on Friday with his Italian counterpart, Enzo Moaveri Milanesi, to discuss the ongoing migration crisis as the situation in the Mediterranean continues to heat up.

The two said they wanted to reaffirm their relationship, especially when it came to “coordination in the field of migration”.

This reaffirmation, they said, was particularly needed with regard to EU level cooperation “in the context of the revision of the Dublin Regulations”.

According to the regulations, the first EU Member State whose border an asylum seeker has crossed is responsible for processing their asylum claim and providing them with reception conditions.

The State is then responsible for hosting those who are recognised as “beneficiaries of international protection”.

Critics of the Dublin system insist that it has disproportionately affected frontier Member States, placing too much burden on them to host large numbers of migrants. 

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has poured cold water on the prospect of an agreement to overhaul the regulations in the forthcoming EU summit, saying it was “not plausible”.

Meanwhile, the Italian media is reporting that Italy may call for the Dublin system to be looked at in detail. 

Interior Minister tells foreign NGOs Italy ports closed to them

Italy yesterday demanded that the Netherlands recall two Dutch-flagged migrant rescue ships after a non-governmental organisation that operates them called the Interior Minister a fascist.

A heated exchange erupted after Italy’s Interior Minister, Matteo Salvini, told more foreign non-governmental organisations operating migrant rescue ships in the Mediterranean they could not dock in Italian ports.

Mr Salvini, who is also leader of the right-wing League and Deputy Prime Minister, posted remarks on Facebook and Twitter in an escalating row with NGOs as the Aquarius headed to Spain after being banned from Italian ports.

Mr Salvini has vowed to continue to block foreign humanitarian boats from Italian ports as Europe wrestles with sharing the responsibility of handling migrants trying to enter the EU from war zones and poor countries, largely across Africa and the Middle East.

Having emerged as the most outspoken member of Italy’s two-week-old government, he said on Facebook that two other foreign NGO ships, the Lifeline and the Seefuchs, were off the coast of Libya waiting to pick up migrants abandoned by human traffickers.

“They should know that Italy no longer wants to be an accomplice in the business of illegal immigration and therefore they will have to aim for other, non-Italian, ports,” Mr Salvini said. Both ships fly Dutch flags.

Italy says humanitarian NGOs are being exploited by human traffickers, a charge the NGOs deny. Rome says only migrants rescued by Italian ships can be brought to Italian ports.

After Mr Salvini’s Facebook post, one of the NGOs, Mission Lifeline, tweeted in German “When fascists promote us...”

An irritated minister tweeted back, saying “insults and threats will not stop us” and that Italians would run their own country.

Hours later, Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli said on Twitter that “Holland should make them come home,” saying the rescue missions were in violation of codes of conduct because they did not have adequate means or personnel and could endanger lives.

Mission Lifeline tweeted that they are “in full respect” of conduct codes.

Demonstrators at a march in Rome for labour rights showed solidarity with the migrants, holding up placards, such as one calling on the government to “Open the ports and the wallets”.

The exchange of barbs took place a day after Italy and France tried to bury the hatchet following a diplomatic squabble on Rome’s refusal to accept the Aquarius. The ship was off the coast of the Spanish island of Majorca yesterday morning and expected to arrive in Valencia today. It originally carried 629 migrants but some were moved to two Italian vessels escorting it to Spain.

Meanwhile, a poll published in Italy’s Corriere della Sera newspaper showed that 59 per cent of Italians agreed with the government’s decision to block non-Italian ships, saying it would discourage human traffickers from trying to smuggle migrants in the first place.

More than 1.8 million migrants have arrived in Europe since 2014. Italy shelters more than 170,000 asylum seekers and 500,000 unregistered migrants.

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