[WATCH] PM tells diplomats EU needs deal with Libya on stemming migrant flow

Joseph Muscat tells Diplomatic Corps that diplomacy is the EU's best weapon against the challenges it faces 

Muscat: EU needs deal with Libya on stemming migrant flow
Muscat: EU needs deal with Libya on stemming migrant flow
Joseph Muscat has reiterated his wish to see an EU-Libya deal on migration. Photo: James Bianchi
Joseph Muscat has reiterated his wish to see an EU-Libya deal on migration. Photo: James Bianchi

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat this afternoon told foreign diplomats that only through effective diplomacy can the EU tackle the various challenges it faces and invited them to contribute with their ideas. “We welcome your ideas and views, as well as your criticism,” he said.

Muscat was speaking at the annual exchange of New Year greetings with members of the Diplomatic Corps, where he said that Malta’s presidency of the Council of Europe constitutes a “landmark for Malta.”

“Our vision is not inhibited by the fact that Malta is the smallest country in the EU. Capability and size are not mutually exclusive,” said the Prime Minister.

He said that “the thrust” of the Maltese presidency will be to bring the union closer to its citizens, adding that one of the principal lessons from 2016, is that citizens need to witness good leadership. Muscat stressed that the presidency’s message “must be communicated clearly and simply” so that it can be embraced by every part of society.

Muscat said that Malta will be discussing issues such as where the future of the Union lies, and stressed that while Brexit will at the core of the issues discussed, it is not the future of the EU and can’t be allowed to dominate the agenda.

On migration, the Prime Minister once again spoke of the need to replicate the arrangement between Turkey and the EU, in Libya. “On migration, the Turkey deal has been one of the few measures that has led to tangible results,” he said, adding that disrupting people smugglers’ business possible is the best way forward in Libya.

Muscat said that the issues of security and migration have put Europe to the test in recent years, and that the EU remains the best placed mechanism to face these challenges. He said that Malta will “continue to pursue an approach of better distribution of migrants” and that it will do its utmost to build on the achievements of the Bratislava Summit on security and migration.

“We are aware of the fact that different views prevail on migration, however the presidency is geared to achieve as much convergence as possible”

Video is unavailable at this time.