Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1243341
5 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 3 MAY 2020 NEWS MATTHEW AGIUS NATIONALIST MEP Roberta Met- sola has called on EU member states to respond to the migrant situation on the bloc's southern borders, with a new mi- gration policy launched yesterday by the European People's Party (EPP). Metsola yesterday said she has been ne- gotiating with coun- tries across the EU to formulate the plan which the European Commission will use to launch a new pack- age of legislation. It breaks the dead- lock of the past 10 years where border states like Malta and Italy are empha- sising relocation while other, mainland, countries are refusing migrants, the MEP told MaltaToday. The policy calls for a framework where- by those member states who are reluctant to take migrants in can use other meth- ods of solidarity. "Fifty-six migrants have been saved in the Mediterranean and are now on a State-chartered Maltese ship. Their lives and immediate health are not at risk. It is a temporary measure. It is not an answer. We need permanent instruments," Met- sola said as she launched the EPP's new approach to migration challenges. Malta is saying that it will rescue the 56 migrants as long as they are immediate- ly taken abroad to be assessed for their claims, but the receiving EU countries are insisting they must be assessed first, before being distributed. This, however, creates a burden on the Maltese State. Metsola challenged Prime Minister Robert Abela to put aside partisan pol- itics and back the new plan, that would see a new EU framework for responsibil- ity sharing. "There is no time to waste. We got this through the EPP, now we need member states to respond and our government to step up its efforts on these lines. We cannot afford to have four La- bour MEPs voting three different ways on these crucial issues and we cannot afford our diplomatic negotiations besmirched by unanswered reports of privately con- tracted returns to Libya." "In the European Parliament I am proud to have led the negotiations on behalf of the EPP. In record time, we have now found a way forward that shows agree- ment is possible on migration across the EU." The plan is backed by MEPs from across the EU, Metsola said, describing the pro- posals as being "rooted in principle". Under the proposed agreement there would be a new framework for the "fair sharing of responsibility between all member states based on meaningful sol- idarity" which would ensure that coastal states like Malta, Italy and Greece are not left alone. The destruction of people trafficking and smuggling networks and the return- ing of those people who are not eligible for protection back to their home coun- tries safely are also priorities, she said, explaining that any country with a safe port on either side of the Mediterrane- an should have a re- sponsibility to take on migrants. This, however, must be combined with a legal framework to break the trafficking model, according to Metsola. "No one should die at sea," Metsola said, underlining that this is a global solution and all safe ports on both sides of the Mediterranean have a responsibility for disembarkation. Priority would also be given to the EU also fast-deploying 10,000 border guards to our external borders. Legal paths should be created for those who are required to work in Europe and for those in need of protection to seek asylum even outside of Europe, meaning they will not have to get on boats and risk their lives. "Smart management of migra- tion requires not only a policy in address- ing irregular flows while ensuring protec- tion to those in need, but also a proactive policy of sustainable, transparent and ac- cessible legal pathways benefiting Europe as well as the countries of origin." The root causes of migration should be addressed by investing in Africa, but ensuring this is linked to cooperation in migration issues, Metsola said. "The EU needs to build on the experi- ence so far of the EU Trust Fund for Af- rica and continue the work done in the African continent. It should replenish the Trust Fund for 2020 with contributions from Member States and the European Commission while identifying precise needs, reads the report. "EU action should aim at contributing to the economic development of local communities and regions and thus re- ducing migration pressure by improving the skills and employability of potential and/or returning migrants. "[The approach] is fair with those who need protection, firm with those who do not and harsh with those exploiting the vulnerable. We now have pragmatic, achievable, Europe-wide solutions on the table. Now we need Europe to respond and our government to back it," the MEP said. MEP's migration policy's migrant- sharing roadmap Nationalist MEP Roberta Metsola gration unit. Although the agreement with was for 90 days, the situation in Libya escalated rapidly and within a few days of their delivery the client decided to use the RHIBS to evacuate the personnel immediately," Fenech told MaltaToday. The evacuation was of 21 of the client's personnel – mostly holding British, French, American, Australian and South African passports – who then flew out of Malta. Fenech said this was done "in full accordance with all applicable Maltese laws and proce- dures". Fenech says he engaged a top legal firm, unnamed, to perform due dili- gence on his UAE client. One of Fenech's arms companies, PBM Limited, has a branding agree- ment with the Blackwater trademark by the private military contractor Erik Prince. Yesterday Fenech denied hav- ing ever worked with Erik Prince "in any capacity… we had absolutely no dealings with him, his companies or any involvement with any of his other endeavours". Prince's Blackwater supplied aircraft to the CIA, and deployed private mil- itary contractors in Iraq. He became a globally infamous figure after his corporate soldiers were involved in a 2007 Baghdad firefight that killed 17 civilians. In 2013, after a $42 million settlement with the Justice Depart- ment, Blackwater was broken up, with its pieces renamed and Prince largely excluded from their operations. In early 2014, Prince and Citic Group, China's largest state-owned investment firm, founded Frontier Services Group, a publicly traded logistics and aviation company based in Hong Kong. One of Prince's associates then was Christiaan Durrant, a former Austral- ian special forces pilot, tasked to run a defunct aviation arm for FSG under Prince's direction. In 2016, Durrant registered the Mal- tese company Lancaster 6 Limited. He spent some time living in Malta. Its owner is the Dubai-registered L6 Group Holding. Lancaster 6's com- pany secretary is Amanda Perry, who has also been associated with Opus Capital Asset – described as a geopo- litical national security firm – which according to US public records spent $60,000 lobbying the White House "on geopolitical issues in Africa". Fenech has denied having worked "either directly or indirectly with Christiaan Durrant, either in Malta or anywhere else in the world". Lancaster 6 describes itself as "a group of passionate and highly capa- ble individuals who believe in pros- perity breeding peace" that consults governments on oil and gas, and other security issues, amongst other aims. News reports from 2018 say the company's activities included the ac- quisition of transport aircraft from Ukraine to be armed with Ameri- can-made guns. The operation was similar to that employed by Prince at FSG, who had attempted to build a private air force using crop-duster planes with heavy weaponry, to run counterinsurgency campaigns largely from the air. Durrant was fired from FSG in 2015 after an internal review on Prince's aviation activities inside the company. dealer in Libya sanctions case denies with UAE groups Police charges against James Fenech (pictured) come at a time when Malta is courting the GNA and allies Turkey. Fenech denies having lent his services to military interests serving the UAE, which backs General Khalifa Hafter in Libya.