Visas for Libyans will create problems - Sant

A report made for four companies which had strong investment links with Libya indicated that there would be problems as a result of the introduction of visas for Libyan citizens wishing to come to Malta, Opposition Leader Alfred Sant said at a public discussion in Valletta yesterday.

He said the companies were Air Malta, Corinthia, Salvu Grima and the Libyan Arab Maltese Holding Company, which together employ more than 2,000 people.

Dr Sant said that in his view, these companies selected the wrong consultants, because they were biased in favour of accession at any cost.

Nonetheless, their report observed that upon EU membership, Malta would have to impose visas on travel from Libya and discussed the impact of this measure.

Dr Sant said that once the visa requirement was introduced, 44 existing agreements between Malta and Libya, including that on the sale of oil, would have to be revised.

He said that Maltese companies which operated in Libya currently did not have problems and were treated better than companies from EU states, but with membership these companies would start to be treated like companies from other EU states.

Libya would probably also introduce visas for the Maltese and this would create big problems to businesses between the two countries. Labour's partnership policy did not pose such problems.

Malta, Dr Sant said, should have the relations which suited it with the EU as well as with the US, Russia and North African states.

Reacting, Foreign Minister Joe Borg said the introduction of visa requirements between Malta and Libya would cause no problems to bona fide travellers, adding that it was not true that the agreements between Malta and Libya would have to be revised as a result.