'At least two years' needed to conclude 'partnership' - Sant

Labour leader Alfred Sant said yesterday it would take him at least two years to "tie up" a "partnership" agreement with the European Union according to the MLP's road map.

Speaking at the MLP headquarters yesterday, he said it was not important if the two-year time frame was exceeded as concluding the "partnership" agreement would be "flexible" and would not be the Labour Party's priority.

Last month, Dr Sant said it could take up to 10 years to negotiate the agreement.

He said the MLP would focus on getting Malta on its feet.

The negotiation of a "partnership" agreement with the EU would not be the "be-all-and-end-all", he said, although Malta needed a "good tie" with the EU, as well as with other countries, such as North America, Australia, Russia and North Africa.

Dr Sant said the MLP met foreign leaders who would prefer Malta to join the EU, but were ready to negotiate a "partnership" agreement if the MLP were elected to government.

He argued that most foreign leaders who commented on Malta's EU membership were defending their own interests.

Dr Sant said EU membership would threaten Malta's maritime register, which had been built over the years and generated substantial employment.

From the education point of view, membership would be a burden on the university due to an influx of foreign students, reducing the chances of the Maltese to attend without paying fees or facing other restrictions, he maintained.

The latest catchword of the MLP's referendum campaign is "creativity", or lack of it, if Malta joins the EU.

EU membership would mean that the country's creative forces would come up against obstacles, Dr Sant said.

He said the pro-EU campaign was based on an inferiority complex, which drummed in the idea that the Maltese could not accomplish anything on their own. History showed that the Maltese were capable, he said.

It was time to "wake up the creative forces", which would not exist if Malta were constrained to do the same as others.

He continued to insist that there was no money from the EU for Maghtab and that the landfill would be handled under a Labour government through public-private partnerships.

The MLP spokesman on foreign affairs, George Vella, said that until 2011, Malta could refuse work permits to EU workers, but there was nothing about what would happen once the seven years were up. The possibility for foreigners from the EU to work in Malta would be decided by the EU Commission seven years after membership.