A last-minute addition to the European Council conclusion made all the difference, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat told a press conference at the end of the Council.

While previously the draft conclusion spoke of a further debate on immigration at the June 2014 summit, as had been previously decided, following Dr Muscat’s intervention and reactions by other European leaders, an addendum was attached and it says that the December summit must reach ’operational decisions’.

Dr Muscat told the press conference that up till Monday the draft conclusion of the Council meeting had only pious words of commiseration. Then, following the visit by Greek PM Samaras and the meeting between the latter and Italian PM Letta, an initiative was born which led to the formation of a common front by nine countries.

The diplomatic initiative, a first for Malta’s relations in the EU, continued during the summit and led to forceful speeches in support of Malta by such persons as the Austrian Chancellor and the prime minister of Croatia. The Malta-Greece-Italy front is now composed of some 15 member states, Dr Muscat said.

Dr Muscat said the negotiations had been tough and some countries were reluctant to support the Maltese initiative. But then, hinting that Germany was one of the ‘reluctants’, he added that during the Council France and Germany came round to agree on the text and its insistence on a December timeline.

Malta, now that the EU has been given this 60-day ultimatum, will remain watchful to ensure that by December the Task Force comes up with operational decisions.

Malta insisted on short-term decisions when the EU mode of operations is usually long-term and strategic.

Dr Muscat said the Council conclusion also makes a very clear reference to the fair sharing of responsibilities as inspired by the Treaty.

The Council was thus a reality check: it has finally spoken about illegal immigration and called it by its name and it has also talked about preventive measures.

Effective steps must now be taken to return those whose application for asylum have been refused to be sent back to their countries of origin. The legal tools to do this have always been there but were not being put in action by Frontex.

The discussion around the Council table also showed support for the idea of setting up offices to take in applications for asylum in the countries of transit so that people will not have to take to the sea and risk their lives. Those whose application for asylum will be refused must be immediately repatriated back to their countries of origin.

As regards Frontex, the government of Malta will not accept that Frontex is used to save people but then, when these people are saved and brought to Malta, it would then be Malta’s responsibility.

Better relations must be established with the countries of transit and those of origin, between Europe and the African continent. There is a risk of instability in the African continent and it is not in Europe’s interest that Libya becomes a failed state.

If the country of origin refuses to issue those whose application for asylum have been refused with a passport, Malta is ready to issue these people with documents to replace the passports, as the EU has allowed to be done in other circumstances.

Malta intends to monitor April’s EU-Africa summit to ensure that the EU financial contribution on one side is balanced by agreement to cut bureaucracy to ensure that these countries deliver on their side with regards to citizens whose application for asylum have been refused.

Malta began these negotiations at a drawback, Dr Muscat said, for in 2009 an agreement was signed which opened the way to the delays in procedures that Malta has been complaining about.

Dr Muscat admitted he had been very clear in his speech to the Council. He said the situation in Malta verges on an explosive situation. His words were a warning to the other countries that unless real and effective progress was registered, Malta could take other actions.

What seems to have helped change matters could have been his reference to security, a reference that the other EU leaders well understand. Lampedusa has claimed its structures cannot cope and a state of emergency has been declared in Sicily. Malta could consider its national security was being threatened if more immigrants are allowed in: its territorial integrity was being threatened.

While entering the Council on Thursday Dr Muscat sounded sarcastic, on leaving the Council he expressed satisfaction the meeting had been a balanced one: it did discuss financial and similar issues but it took time to discuss the immigrant situation in the Mediterranean.

For maybe the first time since Malta joined the EU, the prime minister’s press conference was also attended by a foreign journalist, a female journalist from Finland TV.

To her, Dr Muscat explained in mathematical terms the seriousness of the migration crisis: considering Malta’s small population, the immigrant flow is completely out of proportion to that affecting other EU members. And 90% of asylum applications in Malta are accepted – this is completely out of proportion when one considers what happens in other countries.

Dr Muscat added that the situation in Syria is different. Syrian refugees who make their way to Malta must be treated in a very different way.

He retold the story of a Syrian neurosurgeon who fled from Damascus by car, flew from Turkey to Egypt, saw his asylum application at an EU embassy turned down on a technicality and then saw no other solution but to buy a passage on a boat risking his life and that of his family. Had this man had his asylum application processed as it should have been in the country of transition, he would not have had to risk his and his family’s life.

In conclusion, Dr Muscat expressed satisfaction at the conclusions of the Council. Had no clear timetable been reached, he would have had a very different reaction. This reaction can still be actioned if the December meeting of the Task Force does not reach operational decisions.

Some people may have thought that by delaying action until June, the crisis would be forgotten and the European Parliament elections over but now, thanks to this Council’s conclusions he expects to hear by December how these people whose asylum applications have been refused are going to be sent back. There are, he said he found out when taking office in March, 1,000 persons whose asylum applications have been turned down. These people must leave.

It is equally important to tackle the security issue: one reason why Malta must retain its principle of keeping asylum seekers for a year and a half in security is so as to vet that people who say they are without a document are who they say they are. The recent terrorist attack in Kenya is a glaring reminder of the risk.