That irregular migration is a hard nut to crack is beyond doubt. Nor am I expecting this government, or any government for that matter, to eliminate this problem forever. The influx of irregular migrants will continue and unless the European Union wakes up and starts taking stock of the situation, it will be facing bigger problems in the not-so-distant future.
Although it is being reported that the European Union has become more aware of the plight being shared by small member states at the southern borders of the EU, so far there have been more expressions of concern from European politicians with clout than a real commitment on the need for shared responsibilities.
This lacuna is leaving migrant-receiving states little choice but to deal with the problem on their own, as they deem fit and in the manner they consider to be in the best national interest. To make matters worse, the EU has been baking anti-detention policies and reception-friendly regulations like hot cheese cakes, leaving responsibility-sharing policies on the backburner and in the process penalising further small receiving countries, like Malta, Lampedusa and the Canary Islands. Both the Canaries and Lampedusa have the support of Spain and Italy on the mainland, an advantage not enjoyed by Malta, which is a sovereign state with very limited territory.
As the European Union continues to double-cross its member states, there is now a rush by receiving states to reach bilateral consensus with Libya on immigration-stemming initiatives. Libya is doubtlessly the main point of departure of migrants on the southern Mediterranean route affecting Malta and Italy, so there is logic in attempting to cajole the Libyans into lending a helping hand. It is true that even the EU is trying to get the Libyans on board the famous joint patrols, but there are difficulties.
Well, eventually, after a long period of rampant reticence by the European Union, the famous joint patrols in the Mediterranean commenced in the beginning of June this year. The European Commissioner Barroso paid a visit to Malta and to the Maltese Parliament where he had the opportunity to express his sympathy for Malta’s plight and to re-affirm his Commission’s determination to assist Malta in alleviating migrant inflows – although he made it very clear that it was not possible to accept the government’s proposal for a system of rotation of migrants around European states as “it would make Europe more attractive for irregular migrants.”
The local pro-migrant press, marshalled by a handful of editorial houses, missed Barroso’s unforgettable statement. Or did they intentionally ignore it? Barroso must have said something that fits very conveniently in the bi-partisan agenda of the government and the opposition. If European states are afraid that the European continent would end up receiving thousands of migrants, then what is wrong with the government and the Labour Party expressing their concern about Malta’s predicament? You see, the European Union was very quick to condemn Malta on the tuna pen incidents. And in the recent past, we witnessed a stream of European parliamentarians checking our detention centres and condemning Malta on its detention policy.
However we now have it from the horse’s mouth that they too are concerned about making Europe attractive to migrant flows. It is this blatant inconsistency and sheer hypocrisy by European politicians that I cannot stomach.
Well, Barroso and Frattini came and went. They brought with them the famous joint patrols. We thought that at least Malta now has a permanent deterrent in place. But it took Frontex only a month to pack up and leave, much to the disappointment of Malta and the Maltese – although I very much doubt to what extent, if at all, government and opposition critics in the media cringed at this unexpected departure of Europe’s frontier guardian. You won’t believe it, but they normally indulge in conjuring up false impressions of a bi-partisan conspiracy, spearheaded by the government and the opposition, against irregular migrants.
The fact is that the European Union, and European member states, would not like Europe to become more attractive to migrant flows in much the same way that the Maltese would not like Malta to become a sanctuary for irregular migrants. And in much the same vein, the European Commission is not yet prepared to accept a system of burden sharing of irregular migrants in much the same way that Malta, rightly so, does not like to carry the burden on its own.
The meaning of solidarity, in the European Commission’s dictionary, fits perfectly in Luigi Pirandello’s theory of relativism. There are, you see, different faces to the truth and all strive to achieve that truth that befits them best. Joint patrols or no joint patrols, the European Union is behaving like a general who in the face of defeat cries out to his subordinates – “coraggio fuggiamo!”
Dr Gulia is the opposition’s main spokesman for the
Interior