A bi-lateral meeting between Italy and Malta is scheduled for Thursday, 13 May. Italy’s Interior Minister Roberto Maroni reportedly has said that he will try to convince Malta to recommit to the Frontex sea patrols. Maroni expressed concern that the lack of participation by Malta in the patrols will have negative consequences because it will create a break in what was a united front in the Mediterranean.
Click here (EN) and here (IT) for articles.
The Council decision on the surveillance of sea external borders has been published in the EU Official Journal: “COUNCIL DECISION of 26 April 2010 supplementing the Schengen Borders Code as regards the surveillance of the sea external borders in the context of operational cooperation coordinated by the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union.”
Malta has strenuously objected to certain provisions within the new rule and has said that its decision not to host Frontex’s Central Mediterranean enforcement operation, Operation Chronos, was due to the disembarkation provisions contained in the new Frontex rule. It should be noted that Malta has more recently said that its decision not to participate in Operation Chronos was due to the lack of need for the operation given the “success” of Italy’s push-back practice.
Malta’s objection to the guidelines is largely focused on the following provision in the rule for sea border operations:
“2. Disembarkation
2.1. The operational plan should spell out the modalities for the disembarkation of the persons intercepted or rescued, in accordance with international law and any applicable bilateral agreements. The operational plan shall not have the effect of imposing obligations on Member States not participating in the operation. Without prejudice to the responsibility of the Rescue Coordination Centre, and unless otherwise specified in the operational plan, priority should be given to disembarkation in the third country from where the ship carrying the persons departed or through the territorial waters or search and rescue region of which that ship transited and if this is not possible, priority should be given to disembarkation in the host Member State unless it is necessary to act otherwise to ensure the safety of these persons.”
Commissioner Cecilia Malmström pointed out during her recent official visit to Malta that the rule could be interpreted by the member states participating in an operation so as to provide for disembarkation of migrants at a location other than the host state.
(HT to Steve Peers (Univ. of Essex) via Bernard Ryan on Migration and Law Network list serve.)
Click here for the Council Decision.
Filed under European Union, Frontex, Malta, Mediterranean, News
Commissioner Cecilia Malmström was in Malta on 30 April for meetings with Maltese officials. Malta recently reaffirmed its decision not to host Frontex’s Operation Chronos. Malmström trip was planned before Malta’s announcement. There is no indication that Malta changed its position during Malmström’s visit.
Malmström was interviewed during her visit by the Times of Malta and said that the new guidelines governing Frontex enforcement operations at sea could be negotiated by member states on a mission by mission basis. The new guidelines require that intercepted migrants be taken to the country hosting the Frontex mission, but Malmström said there is the possibility before a mission starts that the participating member states agree on different rules of engagement, which might include the sharing of responsibility where not all intercepted migrants would be brought to country hosting the mission.
Presumably participating member states would not be permitted to negotiate substantive mission by mission changes to the guidelines so as to undercut the very reasons for which the guidelines were recently adopted.
Click here for Times of Malta article.
Click here for video of Times of Malta Interview.
Click here, here, and here for other articles regarding the visit.
Filed under European Union, Frontex, Malta, Mediterranean, News
Commissioner Cecilia Malmström held meetings in Italy yesterday and has meetings in Malta today. In her meeting with Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini she suggested that any possible future migration agreement between the EU and Tripoli ”would not follow the model of the [current migration] agreement between Italy and Libya.” ANSA reported she said that while it is ”important to try and begin dialogue” with Tripoli, ”if there is an agreement, it is clear that the fundamental condition for Libya must be adherence to the Geneva Convention or the equivalent among African states ”on the rights of political refugees.”
In regard to current practices, Malmström said that the right to seek asylum should be respected even when one is already at sea. (”Bisogna comunque – ha concluso la Malmstrom – rispettare il diritto di chiedere asilo quando si e’ gia’ in mare”.)
Click here (IT), here (EN), and here (IT) for articles.
Filed under European Union, Italy, Libya, Malta, Mediterranean, News
Malta previously said that it would not host Operation Chronos, Frontex’s annual central Mediterranean enforcement operation, formerly known as Nautilus, due to the recently approved guidelines governing Frontex enforcement operations at sea which require that intercepted migrants be taken to the country hosting the mission under certain circumstances.
But the Times of Malta is reporting that a Maltese government spokesperson said that the decision not to host Frontex is not because of the new guidelines, but is due to Malta’s view that there is no longer a need for Operation Chronos because of the success of the Italy-Libya migration agreement. “The reason why we decided not to take part in this year’s mission is that we feel there is no need for this year’s EU patrol. We have noticed that, following the introduction of joint patrols by Libya and Italy last year, the number of illegal immigrants reaching Malta has dropped significantly. We feel that, as long as this operation remains in place, there is no real need for another anti-migration mission on behalf of the EU.”
The Times article reports that 84 boats carrying 2,775 migrants arrived in 2008 and that this number was reduced in 2009 to 17 boats carrying 1,475, with the majority of arrivals occurring in the first half of 2009 before the Italian push-back policy was implemented.
Commissioner Cecilia Malmström travels to Rome and Malta this week for meetings with officials on asylum and migration issues.
Click here for article.
Click here, here, and here for earlier related posts.
Filed under Data / Stats, European Union, Frontex, Italy, Libya, Malta, Mediterranean, News
French Ambassador Daniel Rondeau announced that France will shortly accept 92 additional refugees from Malta as part of the EU voluntary resettlement programme. The Times of Malta reports that the Ambassador said “These people are prepared to die to live anywhere except their country; so many die in the Mediterranean Sea. It is really a tragedy and Malta was affected by it… we have to share this tragedy with the Maltese and with the immigrants. It’s our sea and it’s at our door, we cannot look the other way.” France resettled 95 refugees from Malta last year. Several other countries, including Germany and the UK have voluntarily accepted refugees from Malta.
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Filed under European Union, France, General, Malta, Mediterranean, News
Foreign Ministers from the so-called “5+5” countries, France, Spain, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, and Tunisia, are meeting this week in Tunis to discuss a variety of issues including migration, which will be discussed at the plenary session on 16 April.
Click here (FR) and here (FR) for articles.
Times of Malta reports that Frontex will delay the start of its central Mediterranean enforcement mission, Operation Chronos (known in previous years as Operation Nautilus), pending talks between the European Commission and the Maltese Government regarding the new Frontex guidelines governing enforcement operations at sea. EU Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström is scheduled to go to Malta for meetings with the Maltese Government on 30 April. The Times of Malta article states that “Ms Malmström had already announced she would continue speaking to Malta over the Frontex guidelines because she considered the island an important player in the fight against illegal immigration, a Commission official in Brussels said. ‘Ms Malmström has decided to personally visit Malta later this month to engage the government in more talks to try to find a solution acceptable to both parties,’ the official said.”
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Filed under Frontex, Malta, Mediterranean, News
“Migrant Smuggling by Sea-Combating a Current Threat to Maritime Security through the Creation of a Cooperative Framework” by Patricia Mallia, lecturer and Head of the Department of International Law at the University of Malta.
Publisher’s summary of the book: “A number of rules of the international law governing the oceans were created at a time far removed from the challenges of the present day. The principle of the freedom of the high seas and its corollary of flag State exclusivity are archetypical examples of this. Today these rules may appear to be obstacles in the effort to combat a number of contemporary maritime threats such as migrant smuggling by sea. This study examines this multi-faceted threat to maritime security against the backdrop of the current international legal framework and State practice in order to establish whether this threat can be effectively addressed within the existing framework of the law of the sea.”
In an interview with the Malta Independent the author suggests that the new Frontex guidelines governing operations at sea are inconsistent with international law: “On the recently approved Frontex guidelines, apart from the fact that the wrong legal basis was used to get them through, the position taken in the guidelines goes beyond what is stipulated in international conventions, namely the International Maritime Organisation’s Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS) and Search and Rescue (SAR) Convention.”
Click here for link to publisher.
Click here for article.
Filed under Books, Frontex, Malta, Mediterranean
Times of Malta reports on comments made by the head of UNHCR’s Malta Office, Jon Hoisaeter, who said that “international law was not clearly defined when it came to the disembarkation of migrants after rescue operations.”
“There are situations when urgent health and safety considerations would require that those rescued are brought to the nearest safe port of call. In fact, even the new Frontex guidelines acknowledge this… Asylum seekers should be brought to a territory where their situation and claims can be individually assessed in a fair manner. Of course, close cooperation among relevant states will often be crucial to successfully undertake rescue-at-sea operations.”
“The UNHCR supports the development of guidelines that can facilitate rescue and reduce the risk of lives being lost at sea. However, with or without support from Frontex, search and rescue operations are primarily the responsibility of states.”
Click here for article.
Filed under Frontex, Malta, Mediterranean, News, UNHCR
Maltese PM Lawrence Gonzi said on 28 March that because of the new guidelines approved by the European Parliament addressing Frontex sea operations, Malta will no longer host Frontex operations. “This is a major disappointment…our position is that the new rule does not make sense and unless this rule is amended, Malta will not participate in Frontex operations. However, if the rule if changed, we will take part.”
Malta objects to a provision in the new guidelines requiring that intercepted migrants be brought to the member state hosting the Frontex operation rather than the closest available port which in the past has meant that intercepted migrants would often be brought to an Italian port rather than Malta.
Click here and here for articles.
Filed under European Union, Frontex, Malta, Mediterranean, News
“Nationalist MEP Simon Busuttil has told the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee that the procedure used to draw up new [Frontex] guidelines for anti-immigration patrols are illegal and should not be approved. … The guidelines, recently approved by the EU Council despite the objections of Malta and Italy, need the EP’s consent to enter into force.
Intended to act as a new code of engagement for Frontex’s patrol missions, the regulations will place responsibility for rescued immigrants and asylum seekers on the country hosting the mission. … Frontex wants the new rules to come into force before the next anti-migration patrol mission off Malta, scheduled to start in April. However, the new position adopted by Dr Busuttil may derail the process….”
Click here for Times of Malta article.
Filed under European Union, Frontex, Italy, Malta, Mediterranean, News
The new Armed Forces of Malta Commander, Brigadier Martin Xuereb, suggested in an interview with the Times of Malta that Frontex enforcement operations are governed by operational plans that “may or may not draw from the [newly approved Frontex] guidelines”. “‘The guidelines also state that the modalities of the operation will be agreed upon in the operational plan decided by countries that participate in the mission,’ he says, insisting the operational plan superseded the [new] guidelines.” Xuereb also said that it was too early to say whether Malta would decline to participate in future Frontext operations.
Click here for full article.
Filed under European Union, Frontex, Malta, Mediterranean, News
According to an article appearing in DI-VE, over 35% of the 9,554 migrants who arrived in Malta over the past 5 years were Somali. “The second largest group [was] from Eritrea (1,259), followed by Egypt (755), Nigeria (652) and Sudan (596).”
Total Irregular Migrant Arrivals in Malta:
| 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | Total |
| 1,822 | 1,780 | 1,702 | 2,775 | 1,475 | 9,554 |
Click here for article.
Filed under Data / Stats, Malta, Mediterranean, News
Italy has delivered to Libya three patrol boats pursuant to the terms of Italy’s bi-lateral agreement with Libya to control irregular immigration. The three boats that were turned over to Libya in a ceremony attended by Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni supplement three patrol boats which were delivered by Italy earlier.
Maroni spoke at the ceremony and said “Italy and Libya alone cannot carry the burden of a migration problem that touches the whole of Europe. … [The European Commission] has not done much to date [on the migration issue]. In recent days I travelled to Ghana and Niger to sign bilateral accords and it is the first time these countries sign such agreements [on immigration] with a European state. This shows Italy is taking a leading role.”
And unrelated to the new Libyan boats, four new Armed Forces of Malta patrol boats were scheduled to arrive on Wednesday in Malta from Australia. The new patrol boats cost €9.3m and were funded in part by the EU.
Click here and here for articles.
Filed under Italy, Libya, Malta, Mediterranean, News
MIGRANTS AT SEA 