Gozo had been given a voice in the Cabinet when the Nationalist government established a Ministry for Gozo, and the sister island was now represented in the EU as an island with particular needs.

A declaration on the island region of Gozo will be included in the EU membership treaty, deputy prime minister Lawrence Gonzi told a seminar on Gozo and the EU yesterday.

Dr Gonzi said the Labour Party removed Gozo's voice from the Cabinet in 1996: in his term as prime minister, the Labour leader had replaced the Minister for Gozo with a Parliamentary Secretary.

In the debate on the referendum in Parliament this week, every MP will be able give his view. Dr Gonzi urged people to follow the debate as the decision will be in the electorate's hands.

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