CNI aims to take Malta out of EU

The Campaign for National Independence (CNI) is adamant that it will start a "second fight for independence" to take Malta out of the European Union, CNI chairman and former Prime Minister Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici said yesterday.

Dr Mifsud Bonnici laid a wreath at the Independence monument, in Floriana on the eve of the anniversary of independence on September 21, 1964. The wreath-laying, which has been taking place since the CNI was set up four years ago, marks the "loss" of Malta's independence, he added.

Dr Mifsud Bonnici said last year's signing of the EU accession treaty was not binding because the Maltese people's consensus on EU membership was "corrupted" - the consensus, he said, had been achieved through false promises and information and was irregular because of interference by the EU.

"When people start seeing the consequences of that agreement the majority will easily be against Malta remaining an EU member," he said.

The CNI believes that through EU accession Malta lost its independence because it started forming part of a state made up of 25 countries. It believes that the country's independence was given up through the signing of the treaty. It said it was not only protesting but also promising to continue working to get back what the country had lost.