Malta objects to new Frontex rules

Should Malta host the next Frontex mission, migrants picked up from Libyan waters could be automatically brought here under draft EU guidelines the government is forcefully objecting to.

The guidelines say that if it is not possible to return migrants picked up by Frontex vessels to the country they left from, they must be sent to the country hosting the Frontex mission.

But Malta and Italy are objecting strongly and have already expressed reluctance to host or even take part in any missions under this code.

According to the European Council's draft guidelines, which will now be discussed by the European Parliament, Frontex missions will first try to return migrants to the country from where the boat carrying them would have left. Where this is not possible, the migrants should be taken to the country hosting the mission, rather than the nearest port of call, as stipulated by international maritime laws.

The guidelines do make an exception. In the event of people being ill on board the rescued vessel, when there are pregnant women on board or if the boat is deemed to be unseaworthy, the migrants may be taken to the nearest port of call.

However, Malta is insisting that this is not enough.

It had always contended that migrants rescued on the high-seas should be taken to the closest port. The new guidelines changed this scenario, implying that if Malta decided to host a Frontex mission, as it had done in the past two years, it would have to take all the immigrants rescued, even if they were picked up outside its search and rescue region and closer to others', sources close to the Council said.

Contacted by The Times, a government spokesman confirmed that Malta had submitted a declaration on its legal position.

A compromise could be brokered because the text allows for member states taking part in the Frontex operations to change the provisions of the guidelines through agreement.

"Our participation in any Frontex mission will therefore be subject to satisfactory negotiations on the operational plan with the other participating members," the spokesman said.

"We will still continue to follow our international obligations to the letter as we've always done but we will not accept changes to these international obligations," the spokesman said.

Frontex's anti-migration patrol missions off the coasts of Malta have been held for the past four years. However, due to the lack of clarity on the rules of engagement, many member states were reluctant to participate.

Over the past two years, Malta hosted the mission and had almost performed the mission's duties single-handedly albeit at the cost of the EU. During last year's Nautilus IV mission, only Germany and Luxembourg participated with substantial assets while Italy declined to join.

A few weeks ago, Frontex said it was planning to start a new mission, called Chronos, off the coasts of Malta in April. However, following the recent developments it seems this operation could now be under threat. About 820 migrants were picked up during the Frontex operation that took place south of Malta in 2009; just over 700 of them were brought to Malta.