The European People's Party (EPP) has insisted it wants an increase in search-and-rescue efforts in the Mediterranean, after facing accusations from Alternattiva Demokratika it had joined with the far-right to defeat a European Parliament resolution.
The centre-right grouping, of which the Nationalist Party forms part, said in a statement that the accusations were "disingenuous" and an intentional attempt to deceive.
"The Socialist-led resolution, that is the subject Alternattiva's statement called for all vessels to bypass Rescue Coordination Centres, including Malta’s, and disseminate information to any boat in the Mediterranean without any filter," the EPP said.
"It made no distinction between those vessels saving lives and any other vessels, with all the security risks that that brings with it. It would have meant a fundamental shift in how rescues are conducted and guarantee chaos,"
"That plays into the hands of human traffickers, enables organised crime, runs contrary to current maritime practice, muddies the chain of command on the high seas and simply puts the lives of everyone involved at risk."
The resolution, which was tabled by Spanish S&D member Juan Fernando López Aguilar, was rejected by just two votes on Thursday. Various other resolutions dealing with search and rescue were voted upon on Thursday, none of which garnered a sufficient majority to pass.
The EPP said the Socialist resolution was a "reckless add-on" which "no responsible politician could support".
PN MEPs, it said, had always pushed for a holistic approach that ensures proper coordination of sea rescues and a migration policy that is fair with those in need of protection, firm with those who are not eligible and strong against the human traffickers that exploit the most vulnerable.
"The EPP has always been clear in that all NGO rescue vessels should be part of the solution to Search and Rescue in the Mediterranean, so much so that our resolution calls "on all actors in the Mediterranean to transmit information related to persons in distress at sea to the competent authorities for SAR," the EPP said.
Alternattiva Demokratika had accused PN MEPs Roberta Metsola and David Casa of joining forces with “far-right and neo-Nazis” to block a resolution calling for the EU to supoort search and rescue efforts in the Mediterranean.