PM predicts Labour U-turn if membership is approved

The Prime Minister yesterday predicted that the Labour Party would make a U-turn if EU membership were approved at the referendum.

Speaking to supporters in Naxxar, the prime minister said the MLP would then be faced with a big dilemma over whether to keep or change its policy on Europe and its leader, "who would have lost the referendum and the 1998 election".

Answering people's questions, which ranged from the effect membership would have on soldiers to its impact on pensions and stipends, Dr Fenech Adami did not mince his words when criticising the MLP and the General Workers' Union: he accused them of deliberately carrying out a misinformation campaign.

"The GWU is the MLP's parrot," Dr Fenech Adami said, adding that their slogan had been adopted only after the union's president used his casting vote.

"But in its small print, even this slogan says it does not pay to join under the present circumstances. They are trying to leave the door ajar so that they too would make a U-turn," Dr Fenech Adami said.

He accused the "no" camp of being negative and "lying blatantly" about the effects of EU membership.

"The MLP spot on PBS which states that after 2006 Malta would become a net contributor is a blatant lie. Malta would be in the EU by then and would have veto rights when the budget is being discussed. This means that Malta can stop the EU budget if we are unhappy with what we are getting. That is the kind of say Malta would have in the EU," Dr Fenech Adami said.

The MLP's partnership concept, he said, did not exist. "The only partnership that exists is a partnership of lies."

Factories that the MLP was saying would have to close down after EU membership were actually looking forward to membership and were anticipating an expansion.

"There is a rampant misinformation campaign going on... I tell you to challenge them to produce facts in black and white. Ask us, ask the Malta-EU Information Centre and find out the truth for yourselves. And then tell them they are lying."

Dr Fenech Adami said the AFM would be entirely under the government's control and Maltese soldiers would only participate voluntarily in humanitarian missions.

There would continue to be water and electricity subsidies after membership. University stipends would also be kept. Pensions would be the government's prerogative and the EU would have no say on the matter.

The health system too would remain free, more so to those who really needed it, Dr Fenech Adami said.

Export-oriented companies would fare better within the EU as they would no longer face any barriers.

Dr Fenech Adami said the regional unit that had been set up by the government was already looking at the projects that would be submitted for EU funding after Malta became a member.