ADPD calls for national debate on Malta's security and defence policy
Green Party says country is sending mixed signals about its constitutional neutrality
ADPD wants a national debate on Malta’s security and defence policy, arguing that the country is sending mixed signals about its constitutional neutrality ahead of Freedom Day on Tuesday.
Speaking near the End of Cold War Memorial in Birżebbuġa, ADPD deputy chairperson Carmel Cacopardo said Freedom Day should be a unifying national commemoration, rather than a partisan occasion.
Malta’s annual Freedom Day celebration commemorates the closure of the British military base in Malta on March 31, 1979.
Cacopardo said the event remained politically significant because Malta’s constitutional neutrality is tied to a ban on foreign military bases on the island.
“The closure of the military base goes hand in hand with Malta’s neutrality,” he said. “It is a political act through which an independent country celebrates its dignity. This is of significant importance when one considers the current geopolitical situation.”
Cacopardo, however, said the event should be used to reflect on Malta’s national security and foreign policy decisions.
He questioned Malta’s participation as an associate member of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly – a decision he said parliament made “in 69 seconds of parliamentary time” and which he argued went against Malta’s neutrality provisions.
“An important decision such as this demands more than 69 seconds of consideration if this is to be taken seriously,” he said. Malta was approved as an associate member of the assembly in May 2024.
ADPD chairperson Sandra Gauci said the European Union had gradually shifted away from its origins as a peace project, to one with an expanding focus on defence considerations. This raised important questions for Malta, given it is one of just four EU member states not forming part of NATO, Gauci said.
“Sometimes when one analyses the language used, one realises that it is not always easy to distinguish between the European Union and NATO,” she said.
She criticised the lack of serious political debate about the country’s national defence and security policy, saying the quick bipartisan approval of membership into the NATO Parliamentary Assembly was a case in point.
Earlier this week, Foreign Affairs Minister Ian Borg argued that Malta needs to invest in more “eyes and ears” to better protect itself from external threats, but cautioned this did not mean doing away with neutrality or joining any military alliances.
He cited surveys saying Maltese people are not keen to see governments spend money on defence matters, but also want the EU to help defend Malta from any threats.
The minister was speaking to Times of Malta assistant editor Mark Laurence Zammit on Il-Każin.