The proposal, known as Nautilus 2, has been submitted to the European Union (EU) border control agency Frontex and a decision is expected soon. If approved, Malta will be eligible for EU funding for this initiative.

Sources close to Frontex told The Times of Malta that "We have started discussing with the Maltese and Greek authorities how this operation is to be conducted, what resources and personnel are needed, the duration of this mission and the funding necessary for a successful operation."

Should it come into action, Nautilus 2 would be the second EU-run patrol mission on the so-called central route of the Mediterranean, primarily targeted at boatloads of illegal immigrants leaving from Libya and other North African countries and heading towards the EU's southern borders, particularly Malta, Lampedusa and Sicily.

While it was reveled that other member states may decide to join the Nautilus 2 operation, Frontex sources told The Times of Malta that discussions with them were still underway. The sources also let on that the project would last much longer than the two-week operation conducted at the beginning of last October involving military vessels and aircraft from Malta, Italy, Greece, France and Germany cooperating in Nautilus 1.