Several people have already expressed an interest in contesting the European parliament elections, with the accession treaty signed just a week ago.
MPs, prominent personalities and former politicians are among those being tipped to occupy the five seats Malta has been allocated in the Brussels and Strasbourg parliament.
Names being floated around as possible candidates for MEPs include Alternattiva Demokratika spokesman for EU affairs Arnold Cassola, Labour candidates Sharon Ellul Bonici, Edward Zammit Lewis and Keith Grech, Nationalist candidates Michael Frendo and Michael Axiaq, Iva Movement spokesman David Casa and Media.link journalist Karl Stagno Navarra.
Others said they would be interested in contesting the elections but expressed their wish not to be mentioned for the time being.
"A week in politics is too long. It's premature to comment as yet. We have to see what EU-stand our party will take first," one Labour candidate said.
Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi denied rumours he was interested in a job in Brussels.
"I am not interested. I don't want to leave my country and want to remain serving my constituents," he said, when contacted.
Having been a member in the Convention for Europe, Nationalist candidate Michael Frendo would be an established name for the European parliament elections, although he would be eligible for other EU-related posts.
A matter of interest would be to see with which European parliament bloc the Labour Party would align itself, since the Party of European Socialists is a staunch pro-EU group.
Labour Party general secretary Jimmy Magro said it was too early to comment about the issue of MEPs since there was still no indication about the party's future foreign policy.
"There is still nothing concrete," Mr Magro replied when asked what position the Labour Party intended taking vis-a-vis the MEPs.
Mrs Ellul Bonici, a declared Eurosceptic, has close ties with the Group for a Europe of Democracies and Diversities, and therefore would be unlikely to contest under the Labour banner if the party changes its EU stand.
Nationalist Party general secretary Joe Saliba confirmed he had already been approached by a number of individuals to contest the European parliament elections on behalf of the PN. He would not, however, give details.
"At the moment our priority is to prepare for the general council where we will be, among others, analysing the result of the election," Mr Saliba said.
When contacted, Chief Electoral Commissioner Carmel Degabriele said the guidelines for the MEP elections still have to be mapped out by the Maltese parliament.
What was certain is that EU citizens would have a right to vote in the local elections and that unless the government obtains some exception, the elections will have to be held in the week of June 10, 2004.
Mr Degabriele, who had a meeting in Brussels with all candidate countries last November in connection with the elections, said the Maltese parliament had the option to change the structure of the elections, if it deemed fit.
The Nice Treaty established that five members from Malta would be elected to the European parliament as from the next term, following the 2004 elections. This is out of the total of 732 seats allocated to the 27 member states of the enlarged EU.
Elections to the European parliament are held every five years.