No country will order us around no matter the relationship Malta has with them, Joseph Muscat said on Sunday, referring to this week’s standoff with Italy about 629 migrants stranded on a humanitarian ship.
The Prime Minister reiterated on One Radio that the rescue off Libyan shores had taken place in Libyan waters, with Lampedusa being the closest safest port.
This week Malta rejected an Italian demand that it accept the ship, the MV Aquarius, after Italy closed its ports to the vessel, stating that in terms of international law, the migrants should have been taken to the nearest safest port.
This morning, Dr Muscat said that while on its way to Italy, the ship was asked by Italian authorities to anchor in international waters – something that breached international laws and risked a humanitarian crisis.
Malta’s stand was justified by the international communities and the European Commission.
WATCH: Song, dance and relief as Aquarius reaches Spanish shores
Dr Muscat also poured cold water on the suggestion that Malta was taking a similar hard-line stand to that of Italy’s Home Affairs Minister Matteo Salvini and closing its doors to migrants.
“We were not trying to play tough, but we were just following the rules. There were some who jumped on the bandwagon and said: ‘that’s what we should do: not let them in’. Had Malta been the safest closest port, I would have ordered the ship to come in.”
He insisted, however, that he could not accept that another country, no matter its relationship with Malta, ordered the island about because it was smaller in size.
It was in both Malta’s and Italy’s interest to sit around the same table on this issue.
Malta had always fulfilled its responsibilities when it came to search and rescue, and never pocketed any moneys for its patrols.
Malta had also fulfilled its burden-sharing responsibilities and was one of the only two countries, together with Ireland, that relocated the number of asylum seekers that it was allocated by the EU following the migration crisis in Italy and Greece, he said.
Asylum applications in Malta meanwhile remain the second highest in the EU, when compared to the number of residents.
EU efforts in country of origin
Dr Muscat said that as a result of EU action in the places of origin and at the sub-Saharan frontiers, off Niger and Chad, the number of Central Mediterranean crossings had decreased by 78 per cent when compared to last year.
However, those crossing the Mediterranean were still risking their lives, and he believed in legal humanitarian corridors for asylum seekers.
The international community, he said, should step up its efforts and help move those in danger to a safer place.
However, economic migration needed to be regulated, as illegal transit to Europe was unfair on those who applied for a visa through legal channels and were rejected.
IVF amendments
Speaking about the IVF law amendments, which over the past days were debated by the House Committee for the consideration of Bills, the Prime Minister expressed surprise at the Opposition’s total disapproval of the government’s proposals.
Dr Muscat cited the Opposition’s proposal that IVF treatment should not be available to single people, as the eventual children should not be deprived of the family unit.
He referred to the “hypocritical” situation where same-sex couples keep their relationship secret and adopt children as single parents.
On Tuesday his side of the House will be voting as a “compact government”, fulfilling another promise of our electoral mandate. We are all in agreement about it, and people can put their mind at rest that we will deliver, he added.
NGOs staunchly opposed to the amendments are set to meet President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca on Sunday to share their "grave concerns" about the amended laws.