The “immigration season” is now in full swing as boatloads of irregular immigrants depart from northern Africa and ferry across the Mediterranean towards the southern European shores. A few hundreds find themselves in distress close to Malta and end up here as unwilling and unwanted visitors. This pathetic situation has been the focus of the nation for the last couple of years especially during the summer months as the number of new arrivals grows and overcrowding takes its toll at open and closed centers.

As the government and the Opposition take the middle ground and seek convergence on how to deal with unsustainable influxes of immigrants on land, extremists from the anti- and pro-immigrant camps continue fanning the flames of xenophobia and do little if at all to help the authorities in administering domestic matters as best they can.

As if the whole problem can be resolved either by stopping immigrants on the high seas, as some right-wingers propose, or by releasing all immigrants from detention as some liberals wrongly suggest. No matter how unpopular the short-term solution adopted by the government and the Opposition might seem to them – detention for asylum seekers and protection to refugees – it remains the best in the circumstances.

This now takes me to the longer-term solution, which is doubtlessly the responsibility of the international community. There are, quite obviously, two very responsible parties as far as Malta is concerned. In the first place Libya – since for many immigrants, this is the country of their departure – which has become more notable for what it does not do to curb trafficking in human beings taking place right under its nose. And secondly, the European Union, being the place of intended destination, which has developed an ability to ignore its own policies and principles of solidarity. Both are failing Malta miserably.

On the one hand, I feel there is not the political will in Libya to crack down hard on trafficking organisations on its mainland and to alleviate the pressures on its once-very-strong Mediterranean political friend and business partner by accepting to enter a repatriation pact with Malta. On the other hand, the European Union is repeatedly betraying its values on shared responsibilities as it drags its feet to help Malta visibly and effectively. This is the fourth consecutive year that all we have heard from the EU are expressions of concern and solidarity.

While strangely avoiding to enter into any serious discussion on the need to change the Lisbon Convention and to formulate with urgency a pan-European policy on “responsibility sharing”, the EU has vouched that in some indeterminate time in the future (and this when the situation in Malta is already on red alert) it will launch the so-called “joint patrols” to help stem the inflow of irregular immigrants departing from Libya. Good news indeed... if it can only be done.

The first problem is that while in that part of the Mediterranean where Spain is situated, joint patrols between the EU and west African countries are already currently underway, in this part of the world the EU is still in the process of organising a patrolling mission (Commissioner Frattini, 26 June). I find this apparent double standard rather odd. And if I’m not mistaken these joint patrols have been promised to Malta since summer of last year. What is going on?

Moreover, I would advise the Maltese government not to blow any trumpets too quickly about this whole matter of joint patrols. Joint patrols are exactly what they mean – a patrolling mission between the EU and the naval forces of the country from where the immigrants depart – in its own territorial waters and beyond. The idea is to apprehend the immigrants on their boats while they are still on the high seas, hand them over to the naval authorities of the country of departure and returned.

Now in order to have a proper patrolling mission that serves Malta, we will require the cooperation of the Libyans. Put into proper context, the Libyans will need to be part of the patrolling mission with the EU and Malta. Otherwise how would it be possible to return the boatpeople to Libya? We have no legal right to enter Libyan territorial waters and consign the immigrants to the Libyans on Libyan territory on our own, without Libyan consent.

Given the current scenario, I cannot see the Libyans accepting to take part in a patrolling mission with Malta and the EU and not even in the foreseeable future. We haven’t even been successful in putting the record straight with the Libyans on the visa saga ever since we joined the EU, let alone getting them round to accept what would indirectly amount to a repatriation arrangement. A joint patrolling mission is indeed an unwritten repatriation agreement taking effect on the high seas.

I hope I am wrong in my assessment and I would be only too happy to be wrong.

Dr Gulia is Opposition main spokesman on home affairs