The European Commission continues to insist that all was well and good with the issuing of Maltese Schengen visas for Algerians in 2016 and 2017, ignoring the fact that the thousands of visas issued by Malta’s consulate in Algiers without the right checks and balances having been applied, had pertained to the years 2014 and 2015.
In its replies to a European parliamentary question tabled by MEP David Casa, the Commission makes no reference to the actual problem years of 2014 and 2015, when the actual scandal had been perpetrated, even though it had been asked specifically about those two years.
By 2016 and 2017, the matter had been cleaned up after the scandal, involving a relative of the Prime Minister who served as consul general in Algiers, had broken.
At the end of January, Malta’s National Audit Office had lambasted the issuing of Malta visas for Algerians, thousands of which had been issued between March 2014 and September 2015.
The NAO had also found that one out of every four Algerians granted a Maltese Schengen visa never returned home. The NAO investigation, which has been ongoing since November 2015 at the behest of the Public Accounts Committee, found that during the period under review, 14,640 applications had been received, of which 6,779 were granted and 7,589 had been refused.
Referring to 2014 and 2015, Casa asked whether the Commission could “indicate whether Malta has acted in full compliance with its obligations as a Schengen member country to ensure accountability, transparency and seriousness when applying the Schengen rules”.
The Commission pointed to 2016 and 2017, saying, “Malta processed approximately 3,000 visa applications in Algeria in 2016 and the refusal rate was 82%. In 2017, Malta processed approximately 5,000 applications in Algeria and the refusal rate rose to 92%.
“Considering that the average refusal rate, for the Member States processing visa applications in Algeria, was 30% in the same period, it appears that the Maltese authorities have a rather restrictive approach when processing visa applications in Algeria.”
The question had been about 2014 and 2015, when thousands of Algerians had been given a ticket to the whole of the EU by Malta.
“The responsibility for processing and deciding on visa applications under the Visa Code lays with Member States’ consulates,” the Commission added. “It is for consulates to decide whether or not to grant a visa after having checked that the applicant fulfils all applicable entry conditions, including an assessment of irregular migration and security risks.”