The European People's Party (Christian
Democrats) and European Democrats (EPP-ED) group called on
Vice-President and European Commissioner responsible for Justice,
Freedom and Security Franco Frattini to restart European Union (EU) sea patrol missions off the Maltese coast as
soon as possible.
In July, members of group visiting Malta were briefed about its
situation vis-à-vis the influx of illegal immigrants, with EPP-ED Chairperson Joseph Daul saying that it "is bad" and that "concrete action of solidarity is required."
The
month-long patrols though the mission Nautilus II came to an end last week. Frontex,
which is coordinating the patrols, will be analyzing the situation from data
garnered throughout the mission. Further patrols could possibly resume
following the analysis, reported The Times of Malta.
The Nautilus
II was the second EU patrol mission and was held in the Sicily-Malta-Libya strait.
Read more about this issue in MaltaMedia’s Special Feature Lanċa Ġejja u Ohra Sejra.
See also:
EPP-ED conference tackles illegal immigration -
Jul 6, 2007 - 4:36:46 PM