Malta calls for stronger EU response to maritime security threats

Malta has called for stronger European arrangements to respond to complex maritime security incidents and for a more permanent operational capability to protect critical seabed infrastructure, particularly in the Mediterranean.

Addressing a meeting of EU defence ministers, Home Affairs Minister Glenn Bedingfield said maritime security was fundamental to Malta’s economy, connectivity and resilience and welcomed the EU’s growing focus on threats both at sea and below the surface.

“Situational awareness alone is not enough,” Bedingfield said, citing the Arctic Metagaz incident as a clear example.

Following a serious incident involving the Russian-flagged LNG tanker, the vessel was left unmanned and drifting in the central Mediterranean while carrying hazardous cargo, creating risks to navigation and the marine environment. Malta, along with other Mediterranean EU member states, called for a coordinated European response.

Bedingfield said the incident demonstrated that while Europe had the ability to monitor and assess developments at sea, moving quickly from monitoring to coordinated operational action remained more difficult.

Issues including jurisdiction, sanctions, environmental responsibility, commercial salvage and the availability of suitable intervention capabilities emerged simultaneously, he said.

“For Malta, the lesson is clear,” Bedingfield said. “It is not sufficient for Europe to know that a maritime security incident is occurring. We must also have the mechanisms, legal clarity and deployable capabilities necessary to respond.”

Malta is therefore calling for clearer European arrangements for complex maritime security incidents, particularly those occurring in international waters or involving sanctioned vessels, suspected hostile activity or significant environmental and navigational risks.

The proposed arrangements should include pre-agreed mechanisms for coordination, information exchange and legal assessment, as well as the rapid identification and mobilisation of appropriate national or European capabilities, Bedingfield said.

He also stressed the need to strengthen the protection of critical infrastructure beneath the seabed, including telecommunications cables, electricity interconnectors and pipelines.

“The Mediterranean is in fact a superhighway connecting three continents,” Bedingfield said, arguing that the EU’s developing Integrated Maritime and Seabed Defence capability should have a strong Mediterranean dimension.

Although subsea communications cables, energy interconnectors and other infrastructure are vital to Europe’s collective security and economic resilience, responsibility for monitoring and protecting them remains fragmented, he said.

Malta believes Europe should now consider whether a more structured and permanent operational capability is needed, particularly in the Mediterranean.

As a first step, Bedingfield proposed establishing a dedicated expert working group to examine the operational, institutional, legal, technical and budgetary requirements for such a capability.

The group should aim to determine how Europe could establish a standing mechanism capable of maintaining shared situational awareness of critical maritime infrastructure, coordinating national and European assets and expertise, and supporting a rapid operational response when an incident or threat occurs.

Bedingfield stressed that any new initiative should build on, rather than duplicate, existing EU capabilities and mechanisms.

Malta would be ready to participate actively in the process and, as the concept develops, would also be prepared to explore hosting and supporting elements of a future Mediterranean operational capability, he said.