Muscat ‘would have been first’ to accept Aquarius if international law deemed Malta responsible

There was never a time when Malta stood back from its obligations

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said yesterday that he would “have been the first” to allow the Aquarius to harbour in Malta if international law stated that it was Malta’s responsibility to do so.

Muscat said this during his weekly live phone interview on ONE radio, which mainly focused on the Aquarius incident which took place last week.

Last week, 629 migrants on the Aquarius rescue ship were stuck in international waters off the coast of Italy and Malta, both of which denied it entry. Spain ended up offering the ship safe harbour.

The ship had sailed towards Italy. However, Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini blocked it from entering and said the boat should go to Malta instead. Malta refused the entrance, stating that it does not have anything to do with this particular rescue mission.

Reiterating his decision yesterday, Muscat explained that the closest port was Lampedusa and said that the fact that it was ordered to stop “goes against international laws.”

Muscat articulated his frustration with Malta having been ordered by Italy to harbour the ship, deeming them as “unacceptable.” “I cannot accept how another country, no matter how friendly it is with us, orders us and tells us what to do.”

“Malta went about it legally,” said Muscat. “We did what we did not to be tough or something like that, but because we did what we had to do. I took the decision that they cannot come in because it was not our responsibility. If international law asked for it to be our responsibility - just or unjust I would have been the first one to order the boat to shore.”

The Prime Minister went on to call Malta’s current relationship with Italy “delicate.”

“We are balancing being firm and having the best relationship with Italy,” he said.

He argued “there was never a time when Malta stood back from its obligations.”

Asked about the regulation of NGOs, Muscat explained that there are NGOs helping in the Mediterranean migrant crisis who are “genuine, and regulated and have structures of governance.” However he said there also exist those “that are dubious,” pointing to an instance where one was placed outside Libya encouraging the crossing.

Muscat said that since last year, crossing across the Mediterranean have decreased by 78 per cent from European Union efforts addressing the issue at source.

Turning to the IVF reform which is to be voted on in Parliament this week, Muscat stated that the government is voting “as a compact government” and reiterated that he “completely disagrees with the attitude of the Opposition.”