Malta praised for proceeding with EU treaty ratification

French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy has applauded Malta's decision to forge ahead with the parliamentary ratification of the European Constitution, despite his own country's no vote.

"I believe you will have a unanimous vote in favour of the European Constitution. I'm a convinced European and I'm happy to see the Maltese vote for Europe. This means that the government knew how to explain (the Constitution) to its people," he said.

Mr Douste-Blazy was replying to a question fielded by The Times as to whether he believed this month's vote in the Maltese Parliament was pointless in light of the French and Dutch rejections of the treaty.

Mr Douste-Blazy was speaking during a joint news conference with Foreign Minister Michael Frendo to coincide with the 5+5 meeting.

"As sovereign states, each EU country should decide what it wants to do and in fact countries like Poland, Denmark and the UK have decided to suspend their ratification," he said.

Mr Douste-Blazy, recently appointed Foreign Minister in the aftermath of the French non, described as "wise" President Jacques Chirac's call for a meeting in the first part of 2006 to rediscuss the European situation.

"We need to see whether Europe is going to be a power in a multi-polar environment or simply a competitive free trade area. We would like to opt for a powerful and political Europe."

Dr Frendo echoed the same sentiments and said it was a right for every sovereign country to express itself on the Constitution. So much so that the treaty itself makes a political declaration that a meeting of the European Council should be held if up to five states reject the Constitution.

"The process should be taken to its conclusion and then we should take stock of the situation. A Europe of people and a Europe of states needs to be a strong political entity," Dr Frendo said.

The frosty relations that exist between Britain and France were in evidence as Mr Douste-Blazy answered questions.

France and the UK fell out dramatically over the UK's insistence on keeping its annual EU rebate while France continued to get the biggest share of the Union's farm subsidies. Key European foreign ministers met in Warsaw on Monday to discuss issues surrounding future European budgets for 2007 to 2013.

Asked whether France was looking to have a closer alliance with Poland, Mr Douste-Blazy said it was important for France to be present in the Eastern countries, especially after "Britain created a financial crisis" in the EU.

Mr Douste-Blazy said France also intended to look further towards the south and to act as an intermediary between the north and south.

Turning to other matters, the French minister said his country acknowledged the improvements made by Malta in the area of maritime safety. Relationships between the two countries had turned sour in 1999 following the sinking of the Maltese-registered ship Erika off the coast of Brittany.

Describing the relationship between the two countries as "excellent", Dr Frendo said Malta and France were trying to devise means of working closer together politically.

Cultural tourism was among the items on the two ministers' agenda. Mr Douste-Blazy was a former culture minister and a former mayor of Lourdes. He quipped that he has always felt a close alliance with the Maltese, considering that eight per cent of local first-time visitors to France normally go to Lourdes on pilgrimage.