Sant slams EU package as 'shameful and anti-national'

Opposition leader Alfred Sant yesterday rubbished the membership package the government negotiated with the European Union, arguing that it was "anti-national" and "shameful on all levels".

Addressing a press conference at the Labour Party headquarters in Hamrun, Dr Sant said "the package was so bad that it would not be too difficult to negotiate a better one". He said although the government was boasting about it, the package was "bad" and constantly used disparaging remarks, such as "the mountain gave birth to a little mouse", to back up his claims.

Dr Sant, however, avoided committing himself as to how much money he would be able to obtain from the EU with a "partnership" agreement. All he would say when pressed was that the government would save many millions of liri that would have to be spent because of the obligations of membership.

At the beginning of the press conference, Dr Sant referred to three video clips, one showing Professor Guido de Marco, then deputy leader of the Nationalist Party, telling a mass meeting in 1998 that Malta would have qualified for Lm100 million a year in aid from the EU.

Another clip showed Economic Services Minister Josef Bonnici (then an Opposition MP) argue that the EU's programme of assistance could mean that Malta would benefit from loans and grants amounting to Lm100 million, and the last video clip showed the Prime Minister, Dr Fenech Adami (then Opposition Leader), quoting a Federation of Industry document that Malta would be eligible for Lm50 million a year in aid from the EU.

Speaking shortly after his arrival from Copenhagen yesterday, the prime minister made it clear that in addition to the over Lm80 million Malta would be getting net from the EU over a three-year period, it would also be getting Lm30 million for 2003-2005 from the Italian government specifically to help Malta join the EU.

But according to Dr Sant, the package negotiated only led Malta to "swallow all the EU rules" and would lead to uncertainty and the possibility of more taxes.

He said it was not clear whether the declarations on abortion and neutrality, which the Prime Minister said would be included in the treaty of accession, were "simple declarations by the Maltese government or whether these were to be endorsed by the EU".

However, sources close to the Commission yesterday said that any declarations that would be included in the accession treaty meant that they would form part of the treaty and be endorsed by all member states.

The sources pointed out that on abortion, Malta would be signing a protocol with the EU which means that where abortion is concerned, "Maltese law would be supreme in Malta and override any laws the EU might ever have".

Dr Sant said the government was unable to explain how the package would be given, whether Malta would be given Lm26 million a year for three years or whether the government would have to apply for funding for specific projects.

Dr Sant said uncertainty would prevail because while we knew that Lm26 million would be given each year for three years, no one knew what would happen after the three years are up.

The government would have to raise taxes to be able to fund the "new and unnecessary subsidies on agriculture", Dr Sant said.

He argued that pensioners should worry because in ten years' time, they would have to pay more for food and medicines because VAT would have to be introduced on these items.

Dr Sant said both Dr George Borg Olivier and Dom Mintoff had negotiated a much better financial deal (in 1964) with independence and (in 1972) with the agreement which led to the closure of the British military base seven years later.

He said some parts of the package would erode the social fabric as foreigners could set up companies and start buying property here and could also come to set up shop in Malta.

When asked why foreigners would be expected to come to work here if the economy was, in his own words, in such a bad shape, Dr Sant said even when the economy was in bad shape, there would still be work.

"When one has an unemployment rate of 10 per cent like we do, there are still 90 per cent who would be working and foreigners can come here on holiday and work for one to three years in sectors such as tourism, and then leave," Dr Sant said.

The Opposition Leader said the government would be given Lm26 million a year but would have to spend much more than that to fulfil its EU obligations.

Asked how it would be possible to negotiate a partnership agreement when all the European political forces were telling him this was not possible, Dr Sant said it was not Commissioners such as Gunter Verheugen and Pascal Lamy who were important, as these would not be there in two years' time.

Asked about the referendum, Dr Sant repeated that the referendum bound only the government that organised it and that it was the general election that really mattered.

Asked when he would declare whether the MLP would boycott the referendum or not, Dr Sant said when a referendum was called, a party general conference would be convened and a decision would be taken then.