Monday

2nd Oct 2023

EU unable to comment on Italy and Malta port closures

  • The Aita Mari has 43 migrants onboard but nowhere to take them. (Photo: Aita Mari)

The European Commission says it cannot comment on decisions by Italy and Malta declaring their ports unsafe for rescue ships.

"We are not in a position to make a comment of a legal nature on this particular case," a European Commission spokesperson told reporters in Brussels on Tuesday (14 April).

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

The spokesperson said the EU institution has no competence to determine whether a port is safe.

Italy and Malta made the announcement to seal the ports following the outbreak of the pandemic triggered by Covid-19. Libya's UN-recognised government in Tripoli did the same.

The closures mean NGO rescue boats are unable to disembark migrants, amid contested reports that some have since drowned.

Germany's Sea-Watch International on Monday said that at least three boats with some 150 migrants have been in distress for days.

"No state wants to rescue them," it said, noting a fourth boat had sunk.

Alarm Phone, an organisation that provides support to people fearing for the lives at sea, says some of those scrambling for help are women and children.

At least one is a pregnant woman who had been rescued, along with 42 other people, by the Spanish-flagged charity vessel, Aita Mari.

The boat had been en route to return to Spain from Sicily when it was diverted towards a distress call on Monday.

"Malta denies us safe harbour," it then said, in a Tweet on Tuesday, noting however Maltese authorities had agreed to provide it with extra food, vests and water.

Malta, Libya and EU aid

Malta in turn is demanding the EU to launch an immediate €100m humanitarian operation in Libya.

In a letter to the EU's foreign policy chief, Malta's foreign minister Evarist Bartolo says the situation in Libya is snowballing into a major humanitarian disaster.

He said all of Malta's resources are currently being channeled into dealing with pandemic, noting that the island-nation had disembarked close to 4,500 migrants in the past 12 months.

"The situation urgently requires tangible and decisive action which, in our view, must comprise an urgent EU humanitarian intervention in Libya," he said.

For its part, a spokesperson from the EU's foreign policy branch, confirmed that Bartolo's letter had been received.

"We will give it due consideration and reply in an appropriate way," said the spokesperson.

The whole points to a wider crusade against migrant disembarkation at sea as EU states shore up barriers to prevent NGO rescue boats from helping.

An EU-level sea operation known as Sophia, which was mandated to tackle trafficking, has since been replaced by a much weaker mission called Irini tasked to enforce the Libyan arms embargo.

Sophia had more ships and carried out rescues but was effectively shut down by Italy's hard-right then deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini.

Refugees across Europe help fight the pandemic

From the Netherlands to Italy, refugees and asylum seekers are stepping forward to help in the fight against the pandemic. Some are trained doctors, others are cleaners, while others help out the homeless on Europe's streets.

New EU navy operation to keep migrant details secret

The EU's latest navy operation, Irini, designed to counter arms trafficking to Libya, is keeping details on migration rescue procedures a secret. The mission was agreed earlier this week.

Malta patrol boat 'intimidates' capsized migrants

Alarm Phone, a hotline service for migrants in distress, has released video footing showing an Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) boat making dangerous manoeuvres next to people swimming for their lives at sea. Malta does not deny the footage.

EU Ombudsman warns of 'new normal' of crisis decision-making

Emily O'Reilly cited the post-pandemic recovery funds, the windfall taxes on energy companies, and the joint purchase of vaccines, as procedures which received limited scrutiny from the national parliaments — as a result of emergency decision-making powers that bypassed parliament.

Latest News

  1. EU ministers go to Kyiv to downplay fears on US, Slovak aid
  2. Hoekstra faces tough questioning to be EU Green chief
  3. Frontex shared personal data of NGO staff with Europol six times
  4. Why EU Commission dumped Google's favourite consultant
  5. Slovak's 'illiberal' Fico victory boosts Orbán, but faces checks
  6. European Political Community and key media vote This WEEK
  7. Is the ECB sabotaging Europe's Green Deal?
  8. The realists vs idealists Brussels battle on Ukraine's EU accession

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  2. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators, industry & healthcare experts at the 24th IMDRF session, September 25-26, Berlin. Register by 20 Sept to join in person or online.
  3. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  4. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA
  5. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators & industry experts at the 24th IMDRF session- Berlin September 25-26. Register early for discounted hotel rates
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersGlobal interest in the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations – here are the speakers for the launch

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us