In the first four months of this year, around 2000 migrants on their way to Malta were stopped by the Libyan coastguard, Foreign Affairs Minister Evarist Bartolo told Parliament.

"This year saw a four-fold increase in the number of crossings from the African coast to Europe, which resulted in 1,700 arrivals to Malta in the first four months. This is half the entire amount for 2019, and had the Libyan coastguard not stopped the 2,000, the arrivals could have approached the 4,000 mark."

Bartolo was answering a parliamentary question asked by Labour MP Jean Claude Micallef about the outcome of his recent visit to Libya, where Malta and Libya signed a Memorandum of Understanding for better cooperation on migration.

Bartolo explained that both Libya and Malta will be setting up coordination centres, one in Valletta and one in Tripoli to fight against human trafficking. "These centres will begin operating in July, and one in Malta will have two Maltese and one Libyan representative and in Libya there will be two Libyan representatives and one Maltese representative.

He highlighted that there must be a stronger sense of solidarity amongst EU countries when it comes to migration. He also warned that the coronavirus pandemic can worsen the situation of migrants. "The pandemic can result in greater poverty and more jobs, which will force an even higher number of Africans reaching Europe in hope for a better life. We need to show more compassion."