EU, Libya set to cooperate on migration

Libya may be offered EU funds and personnel to help it deal with the tens of thousands of migrants passing through its territory as they try to reach Europe.

In a confidential report to be unveiled tomorrow, the European Commission has recommended the opening of practical collaboration and political dialogue with Libya in the fight against illegal migration into the EU via that country.

According to the report, the Libyan authorities are very interested in cooperating.

The Maltese government will surely welcome the news; hundreds of illegal immigrants departing from Libya end up in Malta, mistaking the island's coast for Sicily.

The report was drawn up after a technical mission visited Libya last November. It was made up of experts from the Commission and the member states. Malta was represented by a senior police officer.

Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini will present the report to the EU's justice and home affairs ministers to meet in Luxemburg. Deputy Prime Minister Tonio Borg is expected to attend.

The report raises various issues, including the conditions under which illegal immigrants are detained and the lack of asylum policy, in Libya.

Firstly a destination country for sub-Saharan immigrants, Libya is increasingly turning into a transit country, particularly for those trying to get into Italy. Libya, which has a population of about 5.5 million, is said to be home to some 600,000 legal immigrants and between 750,000 and 1.2 million illegal ones and to have expelled 54,000 people last year.

The Commission's report stresses that none of this data is particularly reliable. Libya has 4,400 kilometres of ill-defined borders with six countries and 1,770 kilometres of seaboard, which is not properly monitored due to the lack of personnel and funds.

The issue of illegal immigration and Malta was once again raised during the plenary session of the European Parliament on Monday. During a debate on the subject, Nationalist MEP Simon Busuttil appealed to the EU to turn words into action.

Dr Busuttil mentioned the discovery this week of two dead bodies in Maltese waters and said this once again showed the degree of urgency needed to deal with the illegal immigration problem at an EU level.

He stressed the long-felt need for "burden sharing" and welcomed the first concrete measures indicated by the EU recently when it proposed a new fund to help countries like Malta in their fight against the migrant wave.