Brussels, 04/06/2007 (Agence Europe) - The commissioner for immigration, Franco Frattini, firmly called Malta to order for having abandoned illegal immigrants who had been spotted in the sea. “The obligation to save lives at sea comes from international tradition that no country has ever violated in such a manifest way”, said Mr Frattini, quoted by La Repubblica. The commissioner, who is to attend the Justice and Home Affairs Council in Luxembourg on 12 - 13 June, has stated that he would formally call on the Maltese interior minister for his assurance that such an incident would never happen again. “You can't hide behind a type of legal-bureaucratic argument while letting people die”, said Mr Frattini. Last week, 27 Africans who had been shipwrecked spent three days desperately clutching nets in the Mediterranean, whilst the Maltese and Libyan authorities both rejected any responsibility to intervene to save them (EUROPE 9435). The bodies of 18 people were fished out of the water on Friday 1 June by a French frigate, some 200 nautical miles south of Malta, a few days after a boat had been spotted with some 53 illegal immigrants on board, of which there has been no further news. Malta refused to take charge of the bodies, stated that they had been found in Libyan waters and that it was, therefore, up to Libya to receive them. On Saturday 2 June, a Maltese patrol took on board 29 illegal immigrants drifting on board a small boat 135 km from the Maltese coast. The island, which has just 400,000 inhabitants, is situated around 100 km south of Sicily, 300 km east of Tunisia and 350 km north of Libya, which makes it a strategic stage for would-be immigrants. By request of the Commission, an expert group (member states, Frontex, HCR etc.) is to meet on Friday 8 June to try to find answers to questions relating to interceptions made by maritime patrols, responsibility for saving shipwreck victims, the future development of commitment rules devolved to Frontex, and the international maritime rules applicable for sea rescue issues. (bc)