Recognition of EU-qualified teachers, health care professionals

A bill which groups amendments to 24 laws started being debated by the House of Representatives yesterday.

Justice and Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg said most of the amendments were aimed at aligning the laws with the acquis of the European Union.

A substantial number of the amendments involved medical and ancillary professions. They obliged Malta, through its regulatory bodies, to recognise medical qualifications given in EU member states, enabling the holders to exercise their profession in Malta in line with the principle of freedom of movement. These included doctors, dentists and pharmacists. The same also applied, through other amendments, for teachers.

The Code of Organisation and Civil Procedure was being amended in the section dealing with the jurisdiction of Maltese courts. When a regulation of the EU gave the Maltese courts jurisdiction, the Maltese courts would assume the powers given to them by those EU regulations for jurisdiction over those cases.

The bill also provided for recognition of judgments handed by EU courts and tribunals. This involved personal law and property, among other areas. Thus, for example, a property confiscation order given in a UK court could be enforced in Malta if property belonging to the accused existed here.

The bill provided for tougher penalties in cases of bribery or attempted bribery of public officers, in line with Council of Europe requirements. For example, when a person was bribed not to do his duty, the prison term would rise from the current four to 18 months to a minimum of nine months and a maximum of five years. There were various other categories, such as when the bribery led to someone being sent to prison, or released from prison. Another instance was when an MP was bribed or an attempt at bribery was made - in that case the maximum jail term was being raised to eight years from the current three.

Dr Borg said a new crime was being introduced under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. At present, the Criminal Court could issue an order at the request of the Attorney General or the police, for them to use confidential information as part of investigations into money laundering and other serious crime, or freeze property used for money laundering purposes. In terms of this bill, anyone who warned the criminal that such an order was to be issued would also be committing a crime.

The Diplomatic Immunities Act was being extended to officials of international courts, including the European Court of Justice - where Malta had nominated as judges outgoing Attorney General Anthony Borg Barthet and Dr Ena Cremona. Dr Cremona would be a judge on the court of first instance.

Dr Borg said Malta Enterprise and Malta Industrial Parks, were, through this bill, formally assuming the rights over factories previously held by the Malta Development Corporation. This bill also introduced more effective powers for the eviction of squatters, including tenants using those factories illegally when their contract expired, without reference to the courts.

The Land Acquisition (Public Purposes) Ordinance was being amended regarding "sub-soil" rights given normally to utility companies to, say, lay cables or pipes. Such rights could now be transferred not just to parastatal companies but to any company or person as long as there remained a public purpose for such rights in connection with the supply, storage, distribution of fuels or other sources of energy, the provision of utility services and infrastructural projects.

The Competition Act was being amended to extend the competition rules to business that took place between Malta and other countries. The Director of Trade would no longer have the right to exempt any person or company from the competition rules.

The concept of "dominant position" was being extended to apply to even part of the territory of Malta.

Dr Borg said the bill also gave legal status to the publication of up-to-date versions of the laws on the internet.

Opposition deputy leader Charles Mangion argued that the bill should have first been debated by the EU and Foreign Affairs Committee, since it was EU-related.

Some of the amendments were minor, but others were substantive. For example, there should have been a study of the impact that would result from the recognition of qualifications in education and health care issued by institutions in EU countries. This meant holders of those qualifications could work in Malta in the same way as Maltese holding those qualifications could work in other EU counties. Would there be an influx of foreign teachers, when there was already an over supply of Maltese teachers? How would the weak limits negotiated by the government with the EU be applied?

A tiny amendment in the bill, not mentioned by the minister, formally raised VAT to 18 per cent, but had any study been made on the impact of this measure on the cost of living, more so when salaries were being frozen in several companies?

Another amendment involved licensing of the sale of medicines. Would these procedures lead to higher prices? Would the range of available medicines be restricted?

Dr Mangion said the opposition had expected to see substantive amendments to the Business Promotion Act, because what Malta needed were new measures to attract foreign investment as existing incentives were phased out. That such measures were not being introduced yet was a pity when unemployment was rising and exports and tourism were in decline. The government needed not just to adopt EU regulations, but to take policy initiatives which benefited Malta directly.

The opposition did not agree with the bill and would be voting against it. It did not agree with the way it was drawn up. The introduction of certain things was not being explained and matters which were needed by Maltese society had not come about.

Health Minister Louis Deguara said the health section of the bill guaranteed safety at the place of work, provided greater assurance on the quality of medicines and safeguarded patients' interests.

Dr Deguara said that this bill would enable the regulatory councils in the medical sector to exchange information with similar councils abroad so that, for example, a doctor struck off the medical register in one EU country would not be able to work in another. The Maltese regulatory councils would also be able to verify qualifications before health care professionals from the EU were registered here.

Members of the medical profession who did not come from EU countries but worked in EU countries had to prove they could communicate with patients.

The minister said the bill also laid down the manner of use of academic titles. In this context, he said, there were persons in Malta saying they were doctors who had qualified in Russia and carried "M.D." on their calling cards. These people did not actually appear to be doctors and they were being investigated by the police.

Dr Deguara stressed that the new regulations on the registration of medicines should not be an excuse for medicinal prices to rise. When medicines were imported in small quantities and not much profit was made on them, the Health Department may decide to import these medicines itself without need for registration by private importers.

Dr Michael Farrugia, opposition health spokesman, said there was a lack of consultation with workers ahead of this bill.

He said the bill ignored the need to introduce a warrant requirement for several sectors linked to the health sector, much like this requirement was introduced recently for social workers.

Apart from principal legislation, the government also still had to issue legal notices on the procedures of the various regulatory councils following their recent revamp. Indeed, the way the elections for the councils were held was amateurish, to say the least, and open to abuse.

Dr Farrugia said the bill opened the way for EU nationals to apply to work here. Indeed, the door was being opened wider than that and could lead to abuses. For example, non EU citizens holding some sort of medical qualification could come here for a marriage of convenience and once registered here, be able to practice throughout the EU.

In some cases this bill went beyond EU directives, providing for automatic recognition of qualifications issued by some countries without adequate safeguards.