Mr Brincat said the proposal was made during the European and Foreign Affairs parliamentary committee. He said the MLP wanted a guarantee that Malta would remain neutral.

He said that the MLP also wanted guarantees that the agency would not be working parallel to Nato or the Western European Union. Dr Brincat also asked if there were any foreign governments that were pushing the idea forward and if so, asked which they were. He also said that the MLP wanted to make sure that if such an agency was opened, it would not work with military vessels at sea in the area surrounding Malta.