Malta 'very satisfied' with compromise

The Maltese government has expressed satisfaction that a solution has been found on the new EU maritime pollution rules.

Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg told The Times that this latest development was a "victory for Malta and the EU".

He said Malta, together with Greece and Cyprus, had to fight hard amid a lot of pressure by the big countries.

On Wednesday, the committee of the EU's Permanent Representatives agreed on a compromise proposal put forward by the Dutch presidency solving the issue raised by Malta, Greece and Cyprus over new maritime pollution rules. The three countries' main objection was to new regulations laying down that EU ships should adhere to stricter pollution conditions than non-EU vessels.

The three countries argued that the rules, if implemented as suggested by the Commission, would have penalised their merchant fleets by going further than international agreements applicable to competitors outside the EU. It was being estimated that Malta could lose half of its shipping register as a result.

Dr Borg said the new compromise "perfectly fits Malta's needs". He said this episode showed that the EU system also works in favour of small member states such as Malta.

"Malta had resisted a lot of pressure and offers of a transitional period in order to give up its opposition. However we constantly stuck to our principles and at the end our position prevailed."

Censu Galea, the minister responsible for Malta's shipping register, also expressed satisfaction saying the regulations now better reflected Malta's needs and will not damage its prosperous shipping register.

The issue had been pending for the past three months. Malta, Greece and Cyprus were blocking the EU over the issue and voted against the proposals in the Justice and Home Affairs Council. The three countries have the largest shipping registers in the EU.