It was rich of the Prime Minister to call on EU member states to show solidarity on the migration issue at a time when Malta is being accused of shirking its responsibility and failing to take migrants saved from its territorial waters.

Speaking in Strasbourg yesterday, during a review on Malta’s six-month presidency, which has now come to an end, Joseph Muscat said the migration issue “boiled down to values.” He laid the blame at the EU Council’s feet.

Muscat spoke on how 5,000 would-be migrants had been convinced to return voluntarily and how efforts were made in Mali and in Libya, where the coast guard is being given training. This is the same coast guard has been accused by human rights groups of plucking up people from the sea and returning them to the hell they had just escaped from.

What the PM did not speak about was the recent harsh criticism levelled against Malta by sections of the Italian media and some Italian politicians. The most recent politician to blast Malta was Forza Italia’s Laura Ravetto, who said that despite having a search and rescue area of 250 square kilometres, Malta had not taken in a single boat migrant in 2016. “Despite being an EU member state Malta refuses to offer help and to allow migrant boats into its harbours. Why is Brussels closing an eye to this blatant abuse of international pacts,” she asked.

Then, in an article published in Libero Quotidiano, a senior Italian Coast Guard officer said Malta was refusing to help. “They limit themselves to monitoring the migrant boats until they have left Maltese waters. There is no other explanation. They do not want the migrants so they do not take them,” the officer charged.

Italian journalists have also accused Malta of being “devoid of any solidarity,” despite how well the country is doing economically.

Italy has so far this year taken in over 80,000 migrants. Around 2,000 people have died on the perilous sea routes.

Malta and Italy have long been accused of having a secret agreement whereby Italy takes all the rescued migrants. There are various theories about what Italy is getting in return, with the most speculated one being oil exploration rights.

A couple of years ago, a Maltese minister had let slip that an ‘informal agreement’ existed, only to backtrack and deny everything a few hours later.

But numbers do not lie – not a single boat migrant was landed in Malta in 2016. The Mediterranean tragedy has not become any less serious yet Malta seems to be living in a bubble, where migrant boats have become something from the distant past. It is a problem that simply does not affect us.

Joseph Muscat had every right to boast about Malta’s achievements during its presidency but perhaps, when speaking about migration, he should have addressed these accusations that are as hurtful to our reputation as those on money laundering and corruption.

He rightfully pointed out that Malta had borne the brunt of migration a decade ago and that, back then, no one had helped. But at the same time Malta cannot preach about solidarity when it is being accused of failing on the same front and has not even acknowledged, yet alone replied to these serious accusations.