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Matthew Vella
Socialist MEP John Attard Montalto is ready to embark on a campaign strategy to lobby for Malta’s sixth observer, after it was refused to be awarded a fully-fledged sixth MEP upon ratification of the EU Constitution in 2006, which lays down a minimum six seats for the island.
Attard Montalto was reacting to last week’s report in MaltaToday that the European Parliament had not yet invited the House of Representatives to nominate a sixth observer MEP after signing the Constitution. He was the first MEP to underline his intention to initiate lobbying for Malta’s sixth observer seat.
The MEP told this newspaper he will be presenting the proposal to the president of the European Socialists Martin Schultz and to every person that may influence decision-making in the European institutions. “How can a true Maltese not try to do his best to add to its relevance through added representation? I am cautiously optimistic that we will achieve positive results.
“I have been meeting with influential people from all walks of life and different political groups in order to back Malta on this issue. So far our work has been fruitful and our demands are being taken seriously since all we are asking is for Malta to be treated with the same dignity accorded to founding members. I would be extremely disappointed should the EU fail us.”
Sixth seat refusal
Malta was refused a sixth MEP with full voting powers ahead of the 2009 elections by several EU Member States after diplomatic efforts for a sixth seat were in fact thwarted by the refusal of France, Belgium, Austria and Spain to support the proposal.
The decision, which required unanimous approval from all EU Member States, was taken in October during a COREPER meeting, which groups all Member States’ permanent representatives. Richard Cachia Caruana was not present for the decisive meeting as the Maltese permanent representative was in Malta throughout the visit by incoming European Commission president Jose Manuel Durao Barroso.
Attard Montalto said he had not been convinced about the approach taken by the government when the issue of the sixth seat was in the balance:
“When originally a vote was being taken on the sixth seat, the Maltese permanent representative preferred to stay away. Was it deliberate? Who knows? But of one thing I am sure, that the Nationalist Government never expected to be defeated in the European Parliament elections and at the time viewed the sixth seat as a bonus for Labour or Alternattiva. How things change.”
Attard Montalto said the government should be the prime mover over the sixth seat, although he expressed his doubts whether it was ready to take the initiative since there is a probability that Alternattiva Demokratika’s Arnold Cassola could be in line for the seat.
“We all remember the atrocious abortion campaign conducted by the Nationalist media machine intended to smear Prof Cassola. Perhaps if Government was assured that the representation would be a Nationalist observer than we would have witnessed an entirely different attitude, especially in Brussels. But of course, their original fear of Alternattiva gaining relevance still exists.
“This government is a living example of missed opportunities. There are numerous examples which I have encountered during this initial phase in Brussels which concern so many diverse issues, as in the case of interpreters and translators, or the issue of the teaching of the Maltese language in European schools.”
Missed opportunities
The MEP said he resented the fact that the sixth seat had already been bypassed once, and drew attention to the fact that it was members of the Malta Labour Party delegation who were campaigning for a sixth seat, “notwithstanding that the seat will not be filled by a Labour MEP”.
“But intrinsically that is what distinguishes us from the Nationalist Part,” Attard Montalto said. “We have always put the interests of the nation first and foremost, period. The Nationalist put the interests of the nation first and foremost only when it is in their political interest to do so.”
Attard Montalto also said he is ready to work with every person willing to co-operate in the interest of the Maltese Islands, “irrelevant of political ideology”.
“I represent the Maltese people and it is my duty to give my support for added representation. As I had promised the electorate, I will not let any opportunities pass by and if this is not the opportunity to do something for my country what is?”
Despite having signed a legal basis on which to be awarded its sixth observer MEP, Malta is still being shown the cold shoulder by not having been asked to nominate an observer.
Accession countries Bulgaria and Romania have been awarded 35 and 18 observer seats respectively following the signing of their Accession Treaty. Back in 1990, Germany was allowed an extra 12 observer seats following the reunification between East and West, to allow for an eastern German representation, but the decision taken by the European Parliament then was not based on any legal basis.
“The point of double standards can be made in the context of different approaches depending on the relevance of the countries in the EU. Here size matters. When Germany was reunified, without any basis in law, the number of German seats was increased and the added balance took the form of observer status.
“Today a signed legal basis exists in the Constitutional Treaty, which grants Malta the sixth seat, and which the Maltese government has signed on the 29 of October, even if not yet ratified. The sixth seat will not replace another MEP from another country, as those opposing Malta’s seat are trying to advocate. At the end of the day, all we are asking is to be treated with fairness under the prevailing, and new, circumstances. The EU would be practising what it preaches over equal rights and opportunities if it accedes to our request.”
matthew@newsworksltd.com
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