Malta has been let down by the EU, and not for the first time. In a laudable attempt to face up to the uncertainty and economic distress that is crippling so many countries, the European Parliament presented a raft of 72 proposals to help address the COVID-19 pandemic that has brought Europe to its knees.
It is therefore with sadness and dismay that we observed the democratic process being usurped by the powerful pro-abortion EU lobby with the introduction by stealth of the unrelated Clause 48.
Clause 48 demanded that all EU countries guarantee inter alia: “...access to contraception, including emergency contraception, and to abortion care… and condemns the attempts to further criminalise abortion care, etc.” It would seem that the EU abortion lobby will stoop to any depth so as to exploit any event, issue or crisis to impose their own agenda.
In a fit of jingoism and a sense of irony utterly lost on its creators, Clause 58 exhorts the Commission to: “…counter aggressive Russian and Chinese propaganda efforts that are exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic with the aim of undermining the EU and sowing mistrust in the local population towards the EU”.
On the contrary, it is the flagrantly dishonest inclusion of Clause 48 that gives rise to mistrust, which in turn undermines and discredits the much vaunted democratic credentials of the EU.
Clause 48 violates the promise made to Malta during the accession preliminaries. Then, it had been clearly stated that the EU would stay out of such local issues. Any doubts at the time, as to their actual intentions, were written off as mere scaremongering.
It is the practice to vote separately on every component clause pertaining to the overall proposal in European Parliament preliminary voting. When it was the turn of Clause 48 to be voted upon, three Labour MEPs failed to take a clear anti-abortion stand that would have been in line with the expressed views of the Maltese government.
This tactic has become a fashionable tool for the imposition of significant changes in society’s core values
It was no surprise that Alfred Sant voted in its favour – he has, after all, made no secret of his pro-abortion leanings. The motivation of Miriam Dalli and Josianne Cutajar, both of whom abstained is, however, far less clear.
In the end, only three of our six MEPs – Alex Agius Saliba, Roberta Metsola and David Casa saw fit to vote against the inclusion of Clause 48.
It is most disconcerting to note that there appeared to be complete unanimity among the six MEPs when it came to the final vote on the whole package. All voted in favour.
The unjust inclusion of this deceitful insertion sailed through without a murmur.
This ‘Trojan Horse’ tactic has become a fashionable tool for the imposition of significant changes in society’s core values.
This insidious, shabby practice has worked its way into the domain of local politics too.
It has become increasingly common to witness the passage of commendable bills which have been tainted by the inclusion of toxic, and frequently unrelated, amendments with far-reaching and wholly intended consequences on an unsuspecting electorate.
These are not inadvertent errors but the fruit of an agenda with well-planned objectives promoted by an unscrupulous cadre embedded in the highest political institutions.
When one takes into account the fact that our president, prime minister and leader of the opposition have openly declared themselves to be pro-life, this shameful, underhand procedure in Brussels once again confirms our disillusion with the EU, with the integrity of our MEPs and our frail democratic system.
Klaus Vella Bardon, vice chairman, Life Network Malta