The EU’s most senior diplomat is in Malta this week to discuss the migration crisis and the country’s position on war-torn neighbour Libya.
Josep Borrell, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, is expected to hold government talks aimed at finding a common solution to the migration crisis.
The visit follows a similar series of meetings held with Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj who flew in and out of Malta on Monday.
Borrell is expected to meet with his Maltese counterpart, Foreign Affairs Minister Evarist Bartolo, as well as Prime Minister Robert Abela.
“The discussions will touch upon a number of issues impacting the central Mediterranean and North Africa, including economic stability, the peace process in Libya, but especially migration,” a source privy to the details of the visit said.
Borrell, who is essentially the EU’s de-facto foreign affairs minister, can speak for the union in talks related to matters agreed between member states.
Malta has been lobbying for an EU-backed humanitarian mission in Libya and the delivery of €100 million worth of food, medicines and medical equipment before the situation there worsened.
In a message to the nation on social media back in April, Bartolo said the EU needed to intervene before the humanitarian situation worsened. Malta has also repeatedly called for a wider EU strategy on migration, claiming to be unable to handle the numbers of people arriving at sea.
Huge pressure mounted on the country following its decision in March to refuse to disembark any migrants rescued at sea during the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the time, however, Borrell appeared to not have given Malta’s calls much credence, and at a press conference shortly after Bartolo’s statement, Borrell had shown limited knowledge of island’s position.
Meanwhile, government sources said Malta was adopting a new foreign policy position when it comes to the situation in Libya.
Libya, Malta’s southern neighbour, has been in a state of civil war since 2014.
The government, the sources added, had sought over the past few months to rebuild relations with the war-torn North African state, after years of deteriorating contact.
The visit by al-Sarraj was particularly seen as a coup for the Maltese authorities who have been trying to develop a relationship of trust with their Libyan counterparts.
In May, Malta voted to freeze financing for a naval mission monitoring arms traffic into Libya, saying its position will not change until the migration crisis is addressed.