A crucial meeting between Malta, Libya and Italy will be held during the first week of September. The main topic on the agenda to be discussed will be the problems that illegal immigration is posing to each of the three countries.
The Ministers for Home Affairs of the three countries will be attending. This meeting will be the first time that Italy, Libya and Malta are getting together to discuss ways to thrash out this mounting problem.
The Sunday Times reported that the meeting will be held on September 6 and added that Dr Tonio Borg said that "Even if Libya isn't keen on participating in patrols I still think we should forge ahead with them. Ultimately, I think it's in Libya's interest that we start them as soon as possible."
Libya's Ambassador to Malta Saad El Shlmani made it clear that his country will maintain its resistance to sea patrols, The Sunday Times added. EU joint patrols off Malta are expected to be launched in September to oversee an area just outside Libya's territorial waters. A meeting of Frontex, the EU's border agency, is being held in Malta this week to iron out the technicalities.
Other items to be discussed include the fight against illegal immigration, saving lives at sea, combating human trafficking, and the EU-Libya Action Plan.
Possibly the EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini will also attend this meeting.
Meanwhile in the past two days, two boatloads of illegal immigrants reached the Maltese shores. On Saturday a group of 28 men and eight women were rescued. One of the eight women died during the journey. On Friday evening 19 illegal immigrants entered Haywharf.
Read more about this issue on MaltaMedia's special feature:
Lanċa Ġejja u Oħra Sejra: Malta and its migrations.
See also:
Woman dies during illegal immigrants' journey
by MaltaMedia News - Aug 26, 2006
Malta to meet Libya, Italy on immigration
by MaltaMedia News - Aug 22, 2006
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