The European Commission has recognized the “special difficulty” of a crowded island just 200 kilometers from Libya. But twice EU patrols have withdrawn from Maltese waters due to lack of boats or funds. Tensions boiled over this summer when Malta twice defied EU policy by refusing to admit or aid refugee boats, forcing Spain and Italy to come to the rescue. The EU says no nation had ever violated the traditional duty to save lives at sea “in such a manifest way.” Malta says it can’t be the EU holding pen. All is quiet for now, but nothing is resolved on Europe’s hottest immigration front.
