A highly anticipated and publicized tripartite meeting between Malta, Libya and Italy scheduled for Wednesday has been postponed after developments that could see Libya joining the European Union (EU) sea patrols in return for collaboration on desert patrols.
The inter-ministerial meeting, which was set to be held in Malta, is expected to be moved back a number of weeks and instead a technical one between the three countries will take place first.
Speaking to The Times of Malta Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg said that EU the new development were the only for this reason that Libya requested the postponement of the meeting. According to the newspaper, European Commission Vice-President Commissioner Franco Frattini told Dr Borg on Saturday that "the Libyans are seriously considering" joining the sea patrols if there is assistance from the EU to patrol its desert borders.
Dr. Borg welcomed the possible involvement of Libya in the patrols, stating that he preferred to postpone the inter-ministerial meeting in the circumstances "It could fail as well, but I would prefer to have sea patrols with Libyan cooperation than without," Dr Borg said, told The times of Malta.
Frontex, the EU's border agency, had decided to start carrying out patrols near the Libyan border. Those caught fleeing Africa would be sent back to Tripoli as a means to control the overwhelming amount of illegal immigration stemming from Africa. The patrols were set to kick off in the upcoming days and were meant to run for some weeks, before being analyzed in detail to pin-point room for improvement in the system. However, the plan met resistance from Libya.
The inter-ministerial meeting is expected to held some time after the 21st September, once Mr Frattini meets the Council of Justice and Home Affairs Ministers, since he does not have a mandate to offer assistance for the desert borders.
Although Dr Borg dubbed the development to be "positive" he added that "It does not mean that Libya has accepted the sea patrols, but now it is at least considering joining them, provided it receives assistance for the desert patrols."
The Minister believes that Libya's involvement in the sea patrols would have two positive effects, granting the possibility of deterring illegal immigrants and sending them back.
Read more about this issue on MaltaMedia's special feature:
Lanċa Ġejja u Oħra Sejra: Malta and its migrations.
See also:
Plan for joint sea patrols laid down
By MaltaMedia News
Aug 30, 2006, 10:58 CET
Tripartite immigration meeting set for September
By MaltaMedia News
Aug 27, 2006, 10:54 CET
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