While many felt that Malta was morally justified in demanding assistance from the European Union in dealing with the massive influx of irregular immigrants, others felt that it was political suicide.

But we have recently seen a glimmer of hope. Holland has offered to resettle a number of the irregular immigrants who are stranded in Malta in their own country.

This is a good deal all round. The Dutch have a labour shortage, so will welcome the arrival of new faces. We, meanwhile, will of course benefit from the resettlement of a few people, while the immigrants themselves will finally achieve their objective of getting into mainland Europe.

The Czech Republic government, through Asylum and Policy Director Tomas Haisman, has announced that it has looked into the 17-point document drafted by our government and will look at ways of helping us.

Moreover, the offer takes more credence when one notes that the Czechs have asked other EU states for information to avoid overlapping on the issue. This surely shows that the Czech government is sincere in its offer to “help Malta improve a difficult situation”.

The UK, meanwhile, has also helped to kick-start some form of action by writing to the EU requesting its assistance to help our country cope. The UK presidency of the EU has also expressed its support.

In answer to these slight movements, Foreign Minister Michael Frendo said that our diplomatic offensive has started to bear fruit, but that the struggle remained an uphill climb. He ended by saying that Malta will not relent in its quest for assistance.

So, it seems as if the wheels are moving. But what the country must beware of, in essence, is lip service. It is one thing to express solidarity over a problem. But it is another thing entirely to actually get up and do something.

And this is what Malta must do. Our government must continue to pressure Europe; we must continue to stake a claim for help and we must stand firm. Our country maintains that irregular immigration is Europe’s problem, not just ours alone. And, frankly, we are right. None of the immigrants who end up here actually wanted to be in Malta – they wanted to be in Europe. Yet who is shouldering the problem? The answer is all too obvious: Malta and Italy.

Both countries need help. Malta cannot possibly hope to cope with this influx. If we were to be honest with ourselves, Europe is pumping money into Malta to bring us up to scratch because, yes, we do lag quite far behind our European cousins. But at the same time, we are spending millions of liri on this perennial problem.

So yes, Europe must come around to our way of thinking. And we must not sit back and think that we are just little Malta. We are a fully-fledged European Union country with as much say and clout as any other member. We should not be intimidated or made to feel as if we are moaning and complaining, because at the end of the day, that is what all states do to get what they want out of Europe.

We are not saying that Malta should try and cause trouble in the ranks, but it needs to stand up and be counted. We have managed to get three states to sit up and take notice, now we need to increase the slight momentum that we have gained. In politics, once the ball is set in motion, it is relatively easier to achieve one’s objective.

The hardest part has been done. Now it is time for more diplomacy.