‘We Cannot Stop People From Moving To Europe’: Malta Prime Minister’s Take On Boat Migration In Six Quotes
After a week which saw Malta take front stage in Europe’s latest irregular migration case, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat gave his two cents on how the situation should be tackled in the near future.
In an interview on ONE radio, Muscat explained why Malta agreed to temporarily take in the migrants on the search and rescue ship Lifeline, why the Maltese authorities arrested the ship’s captain and closed the island’s ports to rescue NGOs and why he thinks people who believe in quick-fix solutions to migration are delusional.
This is how the Prime Minister views the current situation.
1. Why Malta took in the Lifeline
“The ship was coordinating rescue effort with the Italian authorities in Libyan waters, but it disobeyed their orders [to return the migrants to Libya] and struck a course for Italy. After Italy denied it entry, it ended up in Maltese waters. Although we had no legal obligations to the ship at the point, I was aware that a new set of regulations would have kicked in were humanitarian concerns to erupt on the ship. If a humanitarian crisis had to erupt, the international community would have ended up pointing its fingers at Malta, through no fault of our own.”
2. Why the ship’s captain was arrested
The Lifeline’s captain Claus-Peter Reisch will be prosecuted tomorrow
“It was almost a coincidence that led us to notice the ship was breaking the law. The ship had the word ‘Amsterdam’ painted on its hull, which means that – according to international law – it was only the Netherlands which could order it to leave our waters. However, the Netherlands informed us that the ship was registered as a pleasure craft, even though it was clearly not functioning as one. Meanwhile, the Lifeline captain had also switched off the ship’s transponder in breach of international law.
“An independent investigation is underway and we have decided to close our ports to [rescue NGOs] until it is concluded and we have a full analysis of the situation.”
3. ‘Malta’s historic leadership stance’
Joseph Muscat with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron at this week’s summit
“We were stuck between a rock and a hard place. However, instead of complaining, we took initiative, gathered a group of nine European countries, and together decided to split the burden [of the migrants] amongst ourselves. Little Malta achieved what the EU was never able to achieve – reaching an agreement amongst countries to relocate migrants.”
4. ‘NGOs must allow the Libyan coastguard to do its job’
“The European Council made it clear last week that search-and-rescue ships mustn’t impede the Libyan coastguard, which after all the EU has pumped millions of euro into. The Libyan coastguard saved thousands of lives last week and it was recently given a stamp of International Maritime Organisation – now that their capabilities have been recognised internationally, we must allow them to do their jobs.”
5. ‘Search-and-rescue NGOs must be regulated’
“While I have huge respect for these search-and-rescue NGOs, it is unacceptable for them to go to Libya and post their locations on social media. They need to be regulated to ensure they are truly fulfilling their roles of saving lives in danger.”
6. ‘We cannot stop people from seeking better lives’
A baby which was on board the Lifeline vessel
“This is a very intricate international phenomenon and people who believe you can end it at the push of a button have no idea what they’re talking about. Firstly, we must distinguish between people fleeing war zones and economic migrants seeking a better job. While we have a right to, and will, deport economic migrants, we must bear in mind that it’s become so easy for African people to find out through their mobile phones how well we are living in the West. When an African youth finds out how we’re living in Europe and then spots a chance to move here, he will take it. This is about people aspiring towards better lives and, although it isn’t legal, the concept is an international phenomenon to which there is no silver-bullet solution.”
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