The UK Minister for Europe said he believes the British are freer than the Maltese following his country’s departure from the European Union.

Interviewed by Times of Malta during a brief visit to Malta, Leo Docherty said the EU as a project had become about “pooling sovereignty”.

When asked which aspects of its sovereignty he thought Malta had been forced to give up by joining the bloc, he said it was about freedom.

“I prefer the British option, let me put it like that. Because I think when it comes to making decisions about our future, I think Britain clearly has more freedom than the Maltese,” he said.

When pressed for specific examples, the minister said Britain was “more free because we’re not subject to regulating the working week [and] the way we govern ourselves and control our borders”.

“There’s definitely a freedom dividend by being out of the EU, let me put it like that,” said Docherty, who campaigned for Britain to leave the European bloc.

Pointing to Britain’s controversial Rwanda policy, which passed a crucial vote in the UK House of Commons on Wednesday, Docherty said this was an example of new controls afforded to the UK after Brexit.

My core message would be that in the Brexit era, we don’t take any of our bilateral relationships for granted. Our diplomacy will always be active and that includes with Malta- UK Minister for Europe Leo Docherty

The contentious law will see asylum seekers and illegal immigrants deported to the East African country to have their applications processed there.

Brushing off human rights concerns about the policy, however, Docherty said: “There’s nothing wrong with being in Rwanda; it’s actually a lovely place. It’s just it’s not the UK.”

The minister was in Malta one year after former UK foreign secretary James Cleverly visited the country to sign the UK-Malta Bilateral Cooperation Framework, a document covering sectors including foreign policy, security, trade, education and health.

Following reports of reduced access to UK medicine stocks and higher tuition fees for Maltese students studying in Britain in the post-Brexit era, what efforts have been made to address these challenges?

“They’re certainly on the radar and we’ll see what we can do,” Docherty said.

Describing such topics as “thorny issues” resulting from Britain’s withdrawal from the EU, he admitted there were still some “legacy issues” that needed to be addressed.

However, he said the ability of EU students to study in the UK was not something likely to see any sudden changes, adding “but it’s definitely something that we will continue to give active consideration to”.

‘Britain can learn from Malta’

With migration a prominent issue among electorates in both countries, what does Docherty think of Malta’s approach?

“We can certainly learn from the Maltese,” he said, adding he thought Malta had been successful in reducing migration by working with neighbouring countries to “tackle the flow upstream” and by focusing on deterrents.

In 2020, Malta and Libya signed an agreement to cooperate on the issue, including setting up migration centres in both countries.

According to the United Nations refugee agency, the UNHCR, however, Libya “cannot be considered a safe place,” with a UN Security Council report published in 2022 highlighting widespread human rights violations.

When asked for the UK’s assessment of claims by NGOs that Malta has been involved in so-called ‘pushbacks’ of migrant boats to Libya, Docherty declined to comment, saying he was not aware of the “operational details” of such instances.

He added that Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri would be visiting the UK to discuss migration with now UK Home Secretary James Cleverly.

Britain's Home Secretary James Cleverly (l) listens as Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak hosts a press conference inside Downing Street, London on January 18, following the passing of the government's Rwanda Bill. Photo: AFP

EU expansion and the UK’s relationship with Malta

Considering the UK’s aversion to EU membership, what is the country’s assessment of European expansion, a process which has been prioritised following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine?

“It’s the sovereign choice of all countries to decide what to do. [But] Britain was never going to be a natural bedfellow of the European countries in this project when it became about pooling sovereignty,” he said.

However, he noted that some countries could use prospective membership to leverage internal reform, something Docherty said could be a “very positive catalyst for improving their governance”.

“If other countries think that’s the right future for them and they want to join and be part of that club, we wouldn’t criticise that because that’s their sovereign choice.”

When asked what challenges Malta and the UK had faced following Britain’s departure from the European “club”, Docherty said the two countries were doing everything they could to ensure the relationship was “vibrant and in good shape”.

The Chamber of SMEs said last year that Brexit had been a “horrendous experience” for Maltese businesses, while a recent report commissioned by London mayor Sadiq Khan found the UK’s economy would have grown more without Brexit.

Docherty admits there were “some bumps” on the road after Brexit.

“But what it is allowing us to do is to be a much more globally open trading nation,” he said, pointing to Asia as a key emerging market for the UK in the post-Brexit era.

“My core message would be that in the Brexit era, we don’t take any of our bilateral relationships for granted. Our diplomacy will always be active and that includes with Malta.”