Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1481871
12 NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 16 OCTOBER 2022 Call for applications for those interested in becoming a certied Doping Control Ofcer, Chaperone or Blood Collection Ofcer within the Authority of Integrity in Maltese Sport. The Authority for Integrity in Maltese Sport (AIMS) is issuing a call for individuals interested to pursue an employment opportunity on a casual basis and within the Authority as Doping Control Ofcer, Chaperone or Blood Collection Ofcer on successful completion of a training and accreditation course. A three whole day training course is scheduled between the 10th and 12th of November 2022 leading to certication, accreditation, licensing and eventual recruitment as a DCO, Chaperone or Blood Collection Ofcer. Tuition fee of €100 applies to the selected course participants. An application form which can be downloaded from: https://tinyurl.com/3v5ukf42 accompanied by a detailed Curriculum Vitae (with copies of qualications) and a certicate of conduct (issued by the Police not earlier than 1st September 2022), will be received by email on antidoping@gov.mt until noon of 28th October 2022. Successful candidates will be asked for i. signature of a non- disclosure agreement due to the sensitivity and condentiality of the data to be processed, which will extend beyond the contract duration and ii. signature of a Code of Conduct. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered. Please note that only successful candidates will be contacted. PAUL COCKS THE far-right Fratelli d'Italia (Brothers of Italy) surprised Eu- rope by clinching 27% of the popular vote in Italy's general elections two weeks ago, with its leader, Giorgia Meloni, Italy's prospective prime minister. For many years, Meloni has de- nounced Italy's migration poli- cies for being too lenient and for risking turning the country into the "refugee camp of Europe". Among the most controversial proposals she put forward during the electoral campaign was to re- verses the country's humanitari- anism on refugees, for a blockade of the Mediterranean coast of North Africa to stop the flow of migrants to Italy and Europe. Meloni has long made it clear that halting flows of people across the Mediterranean is one of her priorities. But she has nev- er explained how the blockade would function: would Italy go it alone or seek EU involvement? When and where would vessels be patrolling? What would be the rules of engagement? Efforts to block humanitarian rescue vessels from docking at Italian ports could prompt legal challenges. And if Meloni chokes off pathways to Italy, the volume of crossings would probably in- crease to other Mediterranean countries, including Malta and Spain — as happened three years ago. 'Non-starter' Former foreign affairs minister Evarist Bartolo told MaltaToday Meloni's plan for a naval block- ade was a non-starter, particu- larly since it depended on the ap- proval and participation of other member states. Bartolo said that Meloni never said the Italian navy would be running the blockade alone – al- so because it lacks the units or resources to cover an additional 3,000km of coastline. "Meloni's proposal is not new; in fact there has already been a European military mission with a remit to stem immigration," he said. "This was stopped because the EU countries themselves would no longer support it." In fact, following a spate of deaths in the Mediterranean in early 2015, the EU launched the Sofia mission in June 2015 with its main remit being migration. The mission ran until June 2019 and in those four years, it saved 45,000 people. "But some EU countries put a stop to Sofia because they said it was actually serving as a pull-factor, encouraging peo- ple smugglers to send more mi- grants towards Europe, knowing they would be picked up by ships forming part of the mission and taken to EU ports," Bartolo said. The mission highlighted two main issues cited by opponents of the scheme: where the migrants would disembark and where they would be relocated. In March 2020, the EU launched a new mission, Irini. But this time, because some EU countries would still not back a mission fo- cused on migration, Irini's only mission is to stop arms traffick- ing to or from Libya. It has no re- mit whatsoever on migration. Comprehensive solutions Martin Cauchi Inglott, former Colonel in charge of the Armed Forces of Malta's Martitime Divi- sion, and now a martime security consultant, said that if Europe aspires to control migration out of Libya, comprehensive win-win solutions must be found which address the interests of asylum seekers, Libya and Europe alike. He said migration continues to challenge the European project to precarious levels, while EU member states fail to act collec- tively, opting to put national in- terest above all other considera- tion. "Any courses of action should protect asylum seekers and dis- suade economic migrants from heading to Libya through amica- ble means," Cauchi Inglott told MaltaToday. "But is this really possible? In my opinion, yes, though Europe cannot continue tackling migration in a compart- mentalised manner." He said it is Libya's responsi- bility – not Italy's – to patrol its maritime borders, which it does to the best of its ability. Migrants who manage to escape detection and proceed beyond Libya's grasp are intercepted or rescued by EU maritime forces or NGO vessels. The expectation for Italy or the EU to block migration at sea is not feasible because Europe is bound to ensure that refugees eli- gible for international protection are indeed protected. Meloni plan for naval blockade to migrants 'a non-starter' MaltaToday on Facebook