Doubts that Sicilians will come to Malta after membership

Italian Ambassador Alvise Memmo refuted claims that Italians from Sicily would flock to Malta on European Union membership.

"I honestly don't know what should prompt them to come here. The Sicilians don't even want to travel around their own country, let alone a foreign land," Dr Memmo told The Times in an interview.

The feared influx of Sicilian workers to Malta is one of the arguments cited by sceptics against membership.

But Dr Memmo, 64, who has been posted to Malta for the last six months, would have none of it.

Italian regions like Campania and Veneto were in dire need of manpower to fill in jobs, especially those requiring manual labour, and yet the Sicilians were not interested in taking them up.

"So why should they go to a foreign country where they speak a different language?" he asked.

Though Malta and Sicily were only separated by a 90-minute catamaran journey, the number of Sicilians visiting Malta was still rather low, Dr Memmo said.

He shot down the argument that Malta might be attractive to the Sicilians because of its culture and weather.

"Italy has the same culture and weather, so, no, that will not be the case. It's evident that the Italians don't want to emigrate any more."

The only problem, he said, was the so-called brain-drain of Italian professionals like economists and physicians who were seeking better pastures in the UK and the US.

As one of the EU founding countries, Italy fully supported the enlargement process, Dr Memmo said.

He said Italian interest in Malta was always high, irrespective of membership.

"But it's obvious. If you're a member of the same family, it would be easier for several sectors to operate."

Dr Memmo, who has been in the diplomatic corps for 40 years, spoke in detail about the fifth Financial Protocol which Italy and Malta signed last December .

The ambassador said 13 projects had been earmarked to benefit from the protocol, worth €75 million.

Plans for one of the projects - the modernisation of the road network - had already started in earnest.

The money will also be allocated to cultural projects, environment protection and food safety, among others.

Dr Memmo explained that the protocol was drawn up for three years instead of five because Italy considered Malta to have made massive leaps in its quality of life.

He promised Italy would keep assisting the Maltese in various sectors, especially in the cultural field.

The first protocol came into effect 23 years ago, and since then Malta has benefited from four financial protocols, worth Lm206 million.

The restoration of historic buildings and the freeport were among the sectors that benefited from Italian money in the past.

Why was Italy generous to Malta?

"We are generous by nature," the ambassador smiled.

"We both have a Mediterranean vocation, bound together by cultures which go back a long way. Malta is an important country, and you are important to us, especially because of the island's geographical location."

But, despite being neighbours, tourism from Italy was still rather low.

Some 92,000 Italians visit Malta every year, a stark difference to the average 430,000 British and 204,000 Germans who descend on the island.

The Italians, Dr Memmo said, nowadays prefer going on long-haul holidays such as the Seychelles and Mauritius. The Italians are also driven by the so-called 'fashionable' destinations.

Dr Memmo said it was surprising to note the number of Italians who were still unaware of Malta.

"More marketing from Malta's side would help, especially since your country is far richer in art and culture than some of the countries Italians go to."