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18 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR Matthew Vella MANAGING EDITOR Saviour Balzan Letters to the Editor, MaltaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Letters must be concise, no pen names accepted, include full name and address maltatoday | SUNDAY • 8 JULY 2018 6 July, 2008 Sailing holiday disaster for minister CHARLES Azzopardi, the tuna magnate who owns and operates many of the tuna pens in Maltese waters and beyond, and who has been investigated upon orders from the European Commission for fishing and ship-registration irregularities, invited environment minister George Pullicino and former MEPA chairman Andrew Calleja for a yachting trip to Sicily on a chartered yacht. The ill-fated voyage was organised just over a year ago, at the end of April 2007. It could eas- ily have turned into a veritable disaster, had the trio not decided to disembark from the yacht at Pozzallo, and meet up with the skipper in Syracuse. But the Maltese chartered yacht never reached its destination. Instead it 'strangely' motored straight into a reef, causing very seri- ous hull damage and cutting the trio's sailing holiday short. Tuna magnate Azzopardi, known to his friends as 'Il-Poodle', is the brains behind the lo- cal multi-million euro tuna penning industry… Azzopardi's trip to Sicily, accompanied by the then chairman of the MEPA board, as well as the minister responsible for MEPA, did not pass unnoticed by a contingent of Maltese sail- ing boats, which, in fact, were in the area for the traditional Marzamemi sailing race. These got to know of the mishap involving the yacht chartered by Azzopardi through the traditional hustle and bustle over the radio waves. The presence of George Pullicino and An- drew Calleja, together with Charles Azzopardi, on the quay of Syracuse, was soon to be the talk of the 30-odd Maltese racing teams, who ended up raising questions of conflicts of interest be- tween politicians and big businesses. Confirming his trip with the tuna magnate, a spokesman for George Pullicino told Malta- Today he saw no conflict of interest, nor did he ever feel the need to declare his close friendship with Azzopardi. "Minister Pullicino knew Azzo- pardi for a long time, long before the appoint- ment as Fisheries Minister," the spokesman said. The former MEPA chairman, Andrew Calleja, was even more elusive. "I am no longer a public figure, so I don't see why I should answer on whom I choose as friends," he said in the face of repeated reminders that he was still MEPA chairman when he went on the boat trip last year. "Everyone knows I'm a friend of George Pullicino," he added, avoiding reference to Azz- opardi altogether. "I choose my own friends and I will not let other people choose them for me. I don't see why I have to waste my time telling you who my friends are." MaltaToday 10 years ago Quote of the Week Leadership is the way forward TO say that the outcome of Europe's mini-sum- mit, held in the wake of the latest international disputes concerning migration, was a 'disappoint- ment' would be an understatement. The summit ended in a 10-point plan that has been widely criticised for failing to secure any meaningful, mandatory commitment on reloca- tion and distribution of illegal migrants. The reso- lution's remaining points are all likewise reword- ings of past policies that, with hindsight, can be seen to have failed. As such, the outcome tells us more about the failure of the European Union to hit on a common approach, than about the issue it was intended to address. It illustrates the precise limits of what Malta – or any other member state – can expect at EU level. In its conclusions for its disastrous mini-summit on migration, the European Council admitted that since 2015 – when it sought to outsource its con- trol of the eastern and southern borders to Turkey and Libya – the number of detected illegal border crossings into the EU was brought down by 95% from its peak in October 2015, even if flows have been picking up recently on the Eastern and West- ern Mediterranean routes. Effectively this has been a result of the subsid- ing of certain migration flows, notably those from Syria which represented the refugee crisis of that year, and which consolidated the divide inside the EU itself: the humanitarian model that is also costing German chancellor Angela Merkel's her historic coalition, and the illiberal model advanced by the Visegrad states – Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic – to close borders and ignore the phenomenon. So long as the world remains divided into one of disorder, and one of order, there is no doubt that migration will persist – both illegal and le- gal; but also that a minority of the world's global refugee population – which is too poor to move anywhere beyond their country's immediate bor- ders – will attempt to move into Europe because there is a demand for access, and a global criminal enterprise ready to facilitate it. At heart, this makes it an onerous logistical, security and humanitarian phenomenon that EU states have to deal with. As long as Europe's current asylum policies lack the single legislative model that has been applied in other areas, the burden will remain entirely on the countries that receive the most migrants: Mal- ta, Italy and Eastern European states. This is where right-wing populists find fertile ground to stoke fears about asylum seekers and foreign workers coming to Europe; and where such member states lack strong welfare or social solidarity bonds, and proper integration policies, it is a recipe for a far- right incursion into centrist political consensus. It is happening in Italy, where the populist right-wing coalition in government has turned its guns on Malta, attempting to browbeat the island by ignoring international SAR rules and law. Germany – with Merkel buckling under pressure of the conservative right CSU – Aus- tria and Italy will now hold talks on how to shut down the Mediterranean route, by setting up migrant transit centres from which migrants refused asylum can be sent back. This may defuse a dispute that threatens to bring down Merkel's ruling coalition; but that process will also mean pushing out migrants into neighbouring EU states at their borders. Such bilateral agreements can only be dangerous for a country like Malta, which depends on Euro- pean solidarity to address migration – as attested by Joseph Muscat's coup last week to relocate the Aquarius asylum seekers between France, Neth- erlands, Luxembourg, Norway, Belgium, Italy, Ireland and Spain. As that achievement shows, this can only happen with strong leadership, and co-operation between different EU countries. Even though our country remains a price-taker in international relations, it can be an inspiration for those countries that seek deeper European solidar- ity. This is surely the way forward. Sadly, Muscat's leadership must be counterbal- anced by the seemingly scant regard for human life inherent in his closed-ports policy. Malta's blockade against NGOs seems to be only appeas- ing troublesome neighbours like Italy, while exac- erbating the dangers of a crossing that has already claimed thousands of lives. But the immigration phenomenon also poses a challenge to Europe's much-vaunted humanitarian dimension. Any form of regional disembarkation platforms must be implemented with full respect for human rights, offering asylum seekers and migrants full rights for a judicial review and pro- tection in such centres. Just as urgently, countries like Malta also need a revision of the Dublin Regulation: the law that lays down that asylum seekers must file their applica- tions in the first EU country they reach; and also a common migration system for responsibility- sharing of migrants. Additionally, humanitarian visas inside EU embassies in third countries – Niger is one of many African locations where the EU is seeing to 'regionalise' its externalised fight against illegal migration – could be a way of offering protection to asylum seekers, and reduce the allure of traf- ficking. Europe needs a united and human response that does not forget the values that forged it after World War II; and this will come only through strong leadership and a commitment to safeguard people's lives. The EU has to commit itself to a Mare Nostrum if it believes in keeping its borders secure, but also safe and humane. Editorial "Death cannot be a side-effect of searching for asylum. This cannot be normalised." Integra Foundation head Maria Pisani Germany, Austria and Italy will hold talks on how to shut down the Mediterranean route, by setting up migrant transit centres from which migrants refused asylum can be sent back