The Minister for Home Affairs, Security and Employment, Byron Camilleri, attended the Home Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg. The meeting focused on security, returns, Schengen-related matters and the current situation in Libya.
In his interventions, the Minister reiterated the importance of having resilient external borders and returns to deter irregular arrivals, decreasing the risk of loss of life at sea and dismantling smuggling networks. He emphasised the importance of Frontex support in managing external borders and expressed support for expanding its mandate to allow it to carry out returns directly from third countries.
The Minister also reiterated Malta’s success in managing an effective and well-functioning return system which has led to a 93% decrease in irregular arrivals in 2024 compared to previous years. He encouraged the further use of EU tools to encourage third country cooperation and highlighted the importance of supporting Libya and the Libyan authorities to ensure that instability does not give rise to further increases in irregular departures to the EU.