Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said that the point underpinning the deal signed in the informal EU summit on migration which took place in Malta last Friday was to send a “strong signal” that genuine refugees are welcome however people are not to use illegal channels to circumvent visa procedures.
He said this tonight during an official statement in Parliament on the work carried out at the informal summit, where the morning working group session discussed migration while the afternoon session discussed the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome that was the precursor to the EU.
The deal saw a €200 million package signed that would ensure strengthening of border control, working with the Libyan government and the UNHCR (the United Nation’s refugee unit) to oversee the migrant camps in Libya, including training them and equipping them. Work is also being carried out to patrol southern Libyan borders and adjacent ones. One of the main goals is to halt the profits smugglers make by facilitating the transfer of people via sea through the central Mediterranean corridor, mainly from Libya to Europe.
Dr Muscat responded to criticism that the informal meetings seemed to progress suspiciously smoothly, without any major reservations. He said that the government had been discussing for three months prior to the agreement, and that this is how such positive results were achieved.
He lambasted Opposition Leader Simon Busuttil for asserting that the halt of migrants arriving to Malta via sea over the past few months is due to luck, stating that the government has worked tirelessly to make a meaningful difference.
“Maybe fortune favours the brave, but in this case we have been working and following a strategic plan. He declared his approval of Dr Farrugia’s intervention, adding that the only thing he does not agree with is that there is no mention of the word refugee. He also added that refugees in camps in Nigeria can get to Europe via plane.”
Dr Farrugia had criticised the deal made at the informal summit, calling for a humanitarian effort to help genuine people in need.
Independent MP and Partit Demakratiku head Marlene Farrugia has been critical of the deal for a number of reasons.
Dr Muscat called Dr Busuttil’s address low level rhetoric (baxx) and said that his only goal is to debase the political discourse within Parliament.
“On my conscience I have absolutely nothing to hide.” He questioned whether Dr Busuttil had clarified where the commission of the sale of the Lowenbrau brewery went (a recent scandal that saw Justice Minister Owen Bonnici and Shadow Minister for Justice Jason Azzopardi at loggerheads over a National Audit report questioning the validity of the ground rent redemption of the site with government blessing). He also questioned whether he was comfortable with PN Deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami’s role as director (as part of fiduciary services carried out by his work as a lawyer) in a company connected to a Dutch national accused of money laundering through proceeds of drug trafficking. The Malta police force allegedly halted its investigation when Dr Fenech Adami’s name came up, which launched a fresh investigation by this government.
“How can he (Simon Busuttil) choose to defend those (Journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia) who attack people, and how he does not defend Mario de Marco (Deputy PN leader) who has been attacked by that same person.
He made no mention of Dr Busuttil’s critique earlier on in Parliament of the discovery that No Portfolio Minister Konrad Mizzi’s wife Sai Mizzi is still engaged with Malta Enterprise in China, allegedly retaining her €13,000 salary a month.
Turning back to concerns raised by MPs on the Libya migrant deal, he said:
“The main principle is the fact that crossing between Greece and Turkey has practically stopped. This is because they began sending them back. Between December and now there has been an increase of 80 per cent in crossings between Libya and Europe....and this is winter. Can you imagine in summer? Now we can have any discussion on this; social, economic, commercial etc. Those coming from war torn countries have every right to be here, however there are those coming from countries registered as safe.
“There are even some using this route coming from Bangladesh. It is not the safest country in the world but it is classified as safe. In order to get a visa to come from Bangladesh there are certain procedures.
“So if somebody from there decides to cross the Mediterranean and lands here, that means he has a right to be here and we can discard the visa process? That does not make sense. We cannot end up in a situation where people use these channels to avoid the official processes,” said the Prime Minister.
“This is not the absolute solution. It is a step in the right direction, and the fact that there aren’t migrants coming now is not just a coincidence. We worked for this.”
“We were one of the few countries who immediately agreed to take Syrian refugees coming from Greece. We are one of the countries who fulfilled their commitment in their entirety.
“Who needs protection, we will welcome. This is not hypocritical, there are very different..circumstances.
While addressing his mention of newly elected US President Donald Trump, he said that the government’s “position has been clear from the start. The US remains a crucial partner for the EU. Any reservations that we have, and that we may have should not lead to anti-US sentiment. It would be a pity for all. We need further engagement with the Americans, and say what we believe to be true.
“We do not agree with banning people just because they come from a particular country. We are disappointed that the relocation programme has been suspended. We will be observing the action of the USA government, but this does highlight how one cannot be dependent on anybody else,” he said.