The Malta government will “not move an inch” on the migration policy it has used over the past five years, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said.

He was speaking in an interview recorded on Saturday, on the eve of a mini migration summit that is taking place Sunday afternoon.

“Malta’s position has been very clear – that we make a distinction between genuine asylum seekers and economic migrants who need to go through the relevant channels before entering Europe,” Muscat said.

The PM said the EU had made many turnarounds on migration, but acknowledged that migrant numbers in the central Mediterranean had decreased by some 78%. He said that many governments had paid the price of migration policies, as this was an emotional and often unpopular issue.

European governments, he said, must look at migration from the issue of human dignity and security.

 Muscat said the EU must help those who are fleeing war and persecution. On the other hand, economic migrants who were only in search of a better life – something they have every right to do – must apply for a visa. If they are rejected, they must return to their countries.

Here, he pointed out that Malta has the second highest asylum request rate.

Referring to the ongoing case of the MV Lifeline, which is still stranded in the middle of the Mediterranean sea, Muscat insisted that Malta had no obligation to open its ports. The German NGO operating the ship had disobeyed ordered to work with the Libyan coast guard. In that respect, Italy is right in refusing entry. But the Italian government was wrong in saying that Malta should take the migrants in, he said. “We cannot quote international law when it suits us only.”

Muscat said Malta wanted to reach a balance between human dignity and its national interest.  “We will not play around with people’s lives but we will not allow other countries to play us. Italy and Malta should be on the same side of this argument … I cannot understand why we are wasting time firing shots on the internet. Twitter and Facebook spats will lead us nowhere,” he said.

Asked about Di Maio’s perceived threat on the Malta-Italy interconnector, Muscat said this was probably just “a TV quip aimed to impress the misinformed.”

He said that, should it ever come to the point where Italy switches off the interconnector the country would still have full power, thanks to the gas power station. A few years ago it would have been a different story.

Muscat was also asked about the IVF issue, specifically about the President’s comments of disapproval. Replying, the PM said the President had voiced her opinion, adding that she had always showed consistency on the subject. He insisted, however, that the government was acting in line with its electoral manifesto, which was very “clear” on the subject.

“Now I need to understand what the Opposition is saying, because they are saying that they would reverse the law and stop these services that we are introducing for infertile people. They want to turn the clock back. A few weeks back they said the same thing about the domestic violence amendments we introduced.”

Muscat also referred to the European Court of Justice’s decision to ban songbird trapping in Malta. He insisted that the PN had lied to trappers. In fact trapping had been stopped by the EU in 2009, despite the false promises made by the PN administration. On the other hand this government opened a trapping season ever year. The ECJ’s decision was very harsh, Muscat said, and the government was analyzing it. He said the government would work in favour of trappers but could not promise things it cannot guarantee. “For sure we cannot break the law,” he said.