Sinking fears

Malta fears it will sink under growing tide of migrants from Africa, writes David Rennie on today's Daily Telegraph. He states that the European Commission recently cautioned Maltese ministers in private not to expect to resettle large numbers of refugees in the rest of the EU:

The holiday island of Malta is in the grip of an accidental tragedy: it is directly in the path of a growing and potentially vast flow of asylum seekers from sub-Saharan Africa to southern Europe. Its proximity to Libya, 180 miles to the south, threatens the identity and culture of the islanders. Thousands of refugees have made the crossing in recent months. Libya has said that there are 1.5 million sub-Saharan Africans on its territory and many have their sights set on Europe. Many asylum seekers are fleeing persecution in Darfur and Somalia and unknown numbers drown as they cross the Mediterranean.

The invasion of Malta is accidental: the boats are heading for the Italian islands of Lampedusa and Sicily, which offer direct access to the rest of Italy. But many of them run out of fuel or are hit by bad weather and seek a haven in Malta instead. Boats have reached the island almost every night this summer. Under European Union law, asylum seekers must stay in the European country they first arrive in. Although Malta is no bigger than the Isle of Wight, it is a sovereign member of the EU, so anyone who lands is stuck there.

Malta joined the EU last year and is now sounding the alarm in the hope of receiving urgent assistance from the union. Government leaders and military chiefs told The Daily Telegraph that their island was being swamped. Tonio Borg, the justice minister, said: "What was a problem has evolved into a crisis." Five years ago Malta received only 24 illegal migrants. This year's total stands at more than 1,100 so far, with about 30 arrivals a night - the equivalent of 165,000 asylum seekers reaching Britain...

Smugglers profit as Libya opens up to the west - David Rennie writes that Maltese officials are sceptical about Libyan efforts - "The proof can be seen in Valletta's tiny naval base, tucked under the city's medieval ramparts. The base is unseen by the British and German tourists thronging the elegant piazzas and limestone arcades of the old city only yards above. Down at the quayside, a stone's throw from a marina packed with gleaming yachts, the latest arrival bobs on the blue Mediterranean waters..."