Speaker of the House Anġlu Farrugia addressed global security challenges at the Parliamentary Security-Intelligence Forum in Washington, D.C., held between 9 and 10 December 2025. The event brought together parliamentarians, security officials, and policy experts to examine migration, illicit finance and emerging technologies.
Speaking on migration, Speaker Farrugia described Malta’s reality as “a tangible, daily experience” shaped by its position in the Central Mediterranean. He warned that weaponised migration is increasingly used as hybrid pressure, where vulnerable people are exploited for political coercion. Such practices, he said, threaten democratic stability and “must never become normalised.” While emphasising the seriousness of irregular migration, he noted that legal and orderly pathways—supported by integration—bring socio-economic benefits visible in Malta’s diverse workforce.
On illicit finance, the Speaker stated that financial crime “corrodes institutions and weakens democracies.” He outlined Malta’s reforms to strengthen transparency and highlighted that human trafficking has become a financial lifeline for terrorism, generating illicit revenue reinvested into arms, propaganda, and violence. He called for stronger intelligence-sharing, harmonised laws, and a victim-centred approach recognising trafficked persons as survivors.
Turning to emerging technologies, Speaker Farrugia recalled Malta’s pioneering regulatory work since 2018 and reaffirmed alignment with European standards such as MiCA. He noted the risks posed by cryptocurrencies—including money laundering, sanctions evasion, ransomware, and terrorist financing—while also warning about deepfakes, disinformation, and the potential of quantum computing to undermine encryption. He urged coordinated global governance to ensure innovation advances “alongside integrity and oversight.”
He concluded that confronting hybrid threats, including weaponised migration, and cutting off the “economic and ideological oxygen” sustaining terrorism, are essential to safeguarding peace, democracy, and human dignity.
🇲🇹 For the latest updates and stories from across Malta, follow News of Malta.
