Operational cooperation between Interpol and Frontex to be discussed in Malta

“This is a positive act of solidarity from Interpol’s part, as your voice has due weight in the international arena, and I too acknowledge that you too are supporting us on the issue of migration,” home affairs minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici said as he inaugurated the 40^th Interpol European Regional Conference that is meeting in Malta.

The conference comes on the eve of an extraordinary Home Affairs Council meeting in Brussels under the chairmanship of EU Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom, which will take the form of a donor’s conference where member states will be asked to pledge their assistance to alleviate Malta from the burden of asylum seekers that are fleeing the war in Libya.

Speaking to the MaltaToday, Mifsud Bonnici expressed his optimism that the EU will respond to Malta’s call for assistance and added that the matter is “humanitarian, and merits a humanitarian response.”

Mifsud Bonnici said that he will continue to ensure a better life for asylum seekers beyond Malta, and indicated that his efforts are aimed at bring the number of asylum-seekers in Malta down to zero.

“I will not be specific in numbers, but I want to ensure that each and every single asylum seeker that is arriving, will have access to a better future and be adequately resettled,” he told MaltaToday.

Asked about issues with Italy, Carm Mifsud Bonnici described them as “normal misunderstandings,” and said that he will continue to support Italy’s cause on the migration phenomenon, as “Italy like Malta needs all the help it needs.”

Responding to reports about NATO warships in the Mediterranean that are not rendering assistance to migrant boats in distress, Mifsud Bonnici said that the Maltese government is verifying what the surviving migrants are saying.

“NATO ships alert us on passing migrant boats, but they cannot disrupt the principle of innocent passage and unsless the migrants do not claim to be in distress they do not intervene,” the Minister said, however he steered clear from answering the question on whether NATO simply passes the information and brushes off the responsibility of rescuing the boats.