Muscat defends Schengen suspension as PN claims government 'contradicting itself'

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said that his decision to extend Malta’s suspension of the Schengen rules until after the CHOGM summit was necessary to get to the bottom of a potential racket involving asylum seekers entering Malta using fake passports.

“The government extended the Schengen suspension, because we don’t want people bearing false passports to enter Malta, without us having any control over their entry,” he said, accusing the Opposition of trying to incite fear through their media – such as by publishing a false report of a bomb threat at the Westin Dragonara hotel.

“It’s almost as though the Opposition wants something to go wrong,” he said. 

The discussion on Schengen emerged during a ministerial statement delivered by Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela, for which the Opposition was not present.

Walking back into the Chamber, the opposition demanded to deliver its reaction, with PN leader Simon Busuttil arguing that he had only learnt of the statement 15 minutes before this evening’s parliamentary session.

The opposition - with the exception of deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami - was not present for the ministerial statement after opting to walk out of the House in disagreement with a ruling delivered by Speaker Anglu Farrugia.

The government however refused to allow the opposition to give its reaction, arguing that the PN MPs should have remained in the House for the whole debate.

Earlier, PN deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami questioned how many people have managed to enter Malta illegally with false passports so far and accused the government of sending out “contradictory messages”.

“Muscat claimed that there was no terrorist threat posed by foreigners with false passports, who were caught at Italian airports en route to Malta in recent weeks, and that they were simply trying to reach Malta to find work," he said. "However, at the same time he extended the suspension of the Schengen rules."

“Italian newspapers claim that these people might have had links to terrorism and that Malta has become a destination for jihadists,” he said. “Maltese people don’t live in a vacuum, and can read all this.”

Home affairs minister Carmelo Abela accused the Opposition of inciting fear, citing a recent front-page report on PN newspaper In-Nazzjon that claimed that “Malta has become a destination for jihadists”.

“PN media house journalist Joe Micallef spoke on the radio tonight of an “organized and dangerous circle of foreigners, most of whom are Syrians, who have access to false passports and are coming to Malta”.

“The threat faced by Malta is not of terrorists, but of the Opposition trying to spread terror and fear,” he said.