Renegotiating the EU treaty - the real danger

There is no doubt that by pursuing a credible, stable, serious and sustainable foreign policy, Malta has been boxing well above her weight both within the European Union and elsewhere internationally. This policy has been instrumental in building strong political and economic relations and has enabled Malta to influence decision-making in EU policies. Worthy of note in this context is the EU leaders acceding to Malta's demand that the minimum number of seats in the European Parliament will in future be six - this means Malta's representation cannot fall below this figure and future enlargements of the Union will not "eat into" the number of MEPs Malta sends to Brussels.

More noteworthy is the recent success our Foreign Minister Michael Frendo has had in bringing together (in Malta) the representatives of 49 countries from Europe and the Arab League - thus projecting Malta as the trusted bridge-builder and interlocutor between Europe and the Arab World. Also resulting from the credibility and stability of government policies have been the massive growth in the financial sector (21 foreign banks currently operating in Malta), a 30 per cent growth year on year in employment in this sector, the decision of SmartCity to invest and locate in Malta, the expansion of Lufthansa Teknik and the advent and growth of countless pharmaceutical firms and other industries bringing to Malta foreign direct investment providing more jobs, more job opportunities and a rising GDP for the country.

These things do not happen by chance but are a direct reflection of how other countries and how foreign investors look upon Malta's credible and stable foreign policy. No entrepreneur risks investing in a country that does not offer stability and confidence.

This is where the danger of Alfred Sant's foreign policy lies. By making a wild claim that he will re-open negotiations on the Accession Treaty (which has been signed and sealed years ago and despite what he claims is not open to re-negotiation) he is sowing the seeds of doubt in the mind of our European partners and more importantly of prospective foreign investors that a future Labour government will have no credible, stable and definite foreign policy and that policies can change from day to day at the whim of one man (himself).

It takes many years of hard work to build a country's credibility but it takes one day to lose it. One does not have to overstretch one's mind to work out that lack of credibility and stability will in turn lead to lack of confidence in Malta, to the drying up of foreign investment, of jobs and of the high standard of living which the Maltese currently enjoy, not to mention that in the EU we will be regarded as unstable and unreliable and relegated to the backwaters. And if one is looking for a case in point just look at the harm the euro-scepticism of the politician twin brothers did to Poland's relations with the EU. Or even still go back to the 1970/80s when Malta was the pariah of Europe.

Malta is working - don't let Labour ruin it!