How Joseph Muscat has bored a rat-hole through the Schengen area’s back door

This pertinent comment has been sent in by Fred the Red.

The pan-EU system which Muscat is referring to is meant for other Schengen states to flag reservations and raise objections on particular individuals, and not to conduct a wholesale reassessment of the application.

The Schengen area is founded on the notion of maintaining stringent controls at the external borders. To qualify, Malta had to undergo several tests and tighten up procedures all round.

The fact that Malta became part of the Schengen area was also instrumental in the US decision to waive the visa requirement some years back.

It therefore follows that Schengen frontier states – like Malta – are expected to continue to act responsibly, thoroughly and above all in good faith.

As with everything else, Muscat’s interest in the idea of free movement of persons within the Schengen area is not based on any European ideal but is solely motivated by an insatiable lust for financial gain.

To him, Schengen is just a money-making toy to play around with.