MEP raises maritime, environment issues

The last Malta-EU Joint Parliamentary Committee was held yesterday with an MEP emphasising three problem areas he believed Malta should deal with prior to joining the European bloc in May.

Contrary to the previous 18 meetings, there was no political bickering between the government and the opposition after the Labour Party accepted to work in the framework of EU membership.

The vice-president of the European Parliament's delegation to Malta, MEP Mark Watts, told the session he was disturbed by the fact that despite the efforts made in the maritime sector, the Maltese flag was still largely considered to be a flag of convenience.

Likewise, despite the repeated reassurances, many European NGOs and foreigners still believed Malta was in breach of the Wild Birds Directive, Mr Watts added.

Thirdly, he said, it was worrying to note that Malta was contemplating building two temporary landfills close to a world heritage site.

Replying, Foreign Minister Joe Borg said it was unfortunate that it took such a long process for a country to have its name struck off the Paris Memorandum of Understanding blacklist, since a single incident involving a ship flying the Maltese flag would wipe out all the progress made.

It was true, he said, that Malta negotiated a special agreement for hunters, but in no way did it exceed the parameters of the birds directive.

Dr Borg urged foreigners to realise the massive problem of space limitation in Malta, making it impossible for hunters to be inconspicuous, which meant that the density of hunting could actually be less than in other member states.

The same problem applied to waste generation. The government had commissioned an Environment Impact Assessment report to analyse the effect of the two temporary landfills being proposed.

Speaking about the draft European constitution, Dr Borg said the minimum of four MEPs being proposed was not sufficient from a practical point of view. It was impossible to have an adequate representation in the structures with just four MEPs, he said.

Dr Borg reiterated that Malta would continue to insist that all commissioners must have equal status.

Vice-chairman Michael Frendo appealed to the European Commission to realise that Malta was riddled with a number of fragile issues which would not go away with membership.

The fact that Malta was an island with no natural resources would undoubtedly pose problems, Dr Frendo said, as he appealed to the EU to work together to ensure the viability of niche markets such as financial services.

The EU's chief negotiator for Malta, Arhi Palosuo said the three issues highlighted by Mr Watts were being monitored by the Commission and would be dealt with in the update report due out on November 5.

However, Mr Palosuo kept his cards to his chest and would not give any details of the shortcomings which would be highlighted.

Mr Palosuo patted Malta on the back for the progress made in several areas, saying that more than half the areas examined were non-problematic.

The parliament's rapporteur for Malta, Ursula Stenzel, said there was nothing wrong in questioning certain clauses of the constitution but she warned against opening a Pandora's box at the risk of never reaching agreement.

Speaking about his party's change in stance, Labour Party spokesman for foreign affairs Leo Brincat assured those present that his party was not acting out of convenience but was simply respecting the outcome of the general election, as promised in the 2001 general conference.

It would have been a political U-turn had the MLP stuck to its anti-membership stand, he said. The Labour Party would not look back even if it felt that the package negotiated was flawed and disappointing.

Labour deputy leader Charles Mangion criticised what he described as the government's failure to attract investment, especially at a time when the unemployment, deficit and environment problems were getting bigger.