Maltese soldiers back from Lebanon peace-keeping mission

Maltese soldiers serving with UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon have returned home at the end of their mission, Prime Minister Robert Abela said on Monday.

The announcement came during a statement in parliament by Abela about his attendance at last week's EU heads of government meeting.  

The five-strong Maltese contingent – one officer and four other ranks – had been deployed under Irish operational control as part of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Their camp was located about seven kilometres from the Israeli border and on occasion suffered from close-proximity fire during exchanges between Israeli and Hezbollah forces. 

On the council summit, Abela said the discussion was dominated by the forthcoming EU budget, with Malta positioning itself among the “Friends of Cohesion” block pushing to protect cohesion funding.

He said that while member states arrived with divergent national interests, the importance of cohesion funds was a point of convergence, and that the funds cannot be prejudiced.

Abela said that Malta was negotiating from a stronger position than in 2020, citing the country’s economic performance. However, this success can work against Malta in negotiations, he warned (because it could be eligible for less EU funding).

On taxation, Abela insisted that Malta would not accept EU-level taxes to fund central expenditure under any circumstances.

Gas price withheld

Abela celebrated the recently secured energy supply agreement with BP as proof of his government’s prudence. He said the government will guarantee not just security of supply but also price stability, and that the PN’s warnings of post-election price hikes were unfounded.

He thanked Energy Minister Miriam Dalli and the Enemalta technical team that negotiated the deal, framing the agreement as a major achievement given global volatility linked to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

However, when pressed directly by PN MP Mark Anthony Sammut on what the actual contracted price is, Abela did not provide a figure. He said only that the unit price was “competitive” and he pivoted to accusing the Opposition of having spread fear about supply and price.

Foreign affairs and migration

Abela said the EU summit had also discussed China and macroeconomic imbalances, urging a “measured and calibrated” response consistent with WTO rules. He also warned against the bloc isolating itself.

On Ukraine, he confirmed continued Maltese support and noted the forthcoming June 16 intergovernmental conference on Ukraine’s and Moldova’s EU accession.

On Gaza, he described the humanitarian situation as devastating and said the EU had both a responsibility and an opportunity to play a peaceful role, with debate ongoing as to whether the bloc should act as a mediator.

Abela also mentioned irregular migration as a recurring summit fixture. He stressed the importance of preventing departures from origin and transit countries and the concept of returns to safe countries.

He also said an increasing concern is drug trafficking. On this, Abela advocated a balanced strategy combining enforcement with prevention.

Opposition response

PN deputy leader Alex Perici Calascione, on behalf of Opposition leader Alex Borg, stressed that EU competitiveness was a vital national interest, and that Maltese businesses, exporters and workers would suffer without it.

He affirmed Opposition support for EU enlargement to Ukraine and Moldova on both moral and strategic grounds and argued that Russian aggression should not be normalised. In this regard, he said Malta’s constitutional neutrality should not mean passivity.

He said Europe was built around the economy and security, but also around values. He urged the government to be “more assertive and ambitious” in defending Malta’s interests.

PN MP Beppe Fenech Adami mentioned the Russian shadow fleet, specifically the Arctic Metagaz tanker that appeared to have been targeted close to Malta’s search and rescue zone. He asked about possible increased surveillance at the Strait of Gibraltar and Suez Canal to prevent dangerous tankers from posing an environmental and security threat to Malta.

Fenech Adami also asked about the situation in Lebanon and the conditions of the Maltese soldiers serving with UNIFIL in the country. He then asked whether the government condemned the verbal attack on Maltese diplomat Vanessa Frazier at a UN conference.

PN MP Beppe Galea asked whether a portion of the EU budget would be earmarked for Gozo and what projects were in the pipeline.

Abela’s reply

Abela criticised Alex Borg’s absence from the sitting, given that it was only the second sitting of the legislature and consisted of a ministerial statement about EU-level matters.

On defence, he said a government under his leadership would only participate within constitutional parameters and would not go beyond them.

Responding about the Arctic Metagaz vessel, he said such matters must be treated with precision. He said sanctions were always taken seriously and that vessels connected to the Russian regime had been removed from the Malta ship register when sanctions were imposed on them.

Regarding Maltese soldiers deployed in Lebanon, Abela said the soldiers started being repatriated back home on May 30.

While Abela defended Frazier as enjoying the government’s full support and trust in high-level missions, he fell short of condemning the verbal attack. He said diplomacy belonged around a table and should not consist of inflammatory public comments, which he said had escalated tensions since 2020.