The EU has imposed a "drastic curtailment" on the volume of work that can be carried out at the shipyards in view of the excess capacity in shipbuilding and shiprepair which existed in the European Union, Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici claimed yesterday.

The former prime minister yesterday also claimed that an expression of interest for the construction of two vessels at the shipyards had been turned down because of the EU restrictions.

Both his claims were rubbished by drydocks chairman John Cassar White.

During a news conference, Dr Mifsud Bonnici, chairman of the Campaign for National Independence, accused the EU of imposing several conditions on the shipyards' restructuring plan.

Among these, one regulation lays down that the man-hours available for the planned productive workforce for ship building, ship repair and ship conversion of 1,410 persons (after the restructuring) within the 'yards shall be of 2.4 million man hours per annum.

Another condition stipulates that shipbuilding is not to exceed the maximum annual production of 10,000 compensated gross tonnage.

"We have a duty to attract as much work as possible to the 'yards and not impose limits," he said.

Dr Mifsud Bonnici described as a smokescreen the prime minister's decision in September 2001 to set up a task force to work out a feasible shipyards restructuring plan by the end of November that year. This was because the government had already forwarded its shipyards restructuring plan to the EU, he claimed.

The government had misled the people on the shipyards issue, Dr Mifsud Bonnici said.

He laid the blame for the drastic reduction in turnover at the 'yards since 1987 on the government and the management.

When contacted, John Cassar White denied that the EU had in any way interfered with the volume of work at the Malta 'yards.

"In our business plan we made a conscious decision that the construction of ships was not profitable because of tougher competition," he said.

Instead the MDD was concentrating in fields such as ship repair, superyachts and steel fabrication.

"We are merely adapting ourselves to the situation," he said.

He confirmed that the drydocks had received an enquiry for the construction of two vessels but strongly rebutted the claim that the EU had interfered in any way.

"We only turned the job down because we are not competitive in the kind of work that was required. We had carried out a similar job on a Norwegian vessel and it was not viable," he said.

Mr Cassar White hit back at Dr Mifsud Bonnici and said the reduction in the workforce had nothing to do with the EU - the MDD was merely following the advice given by every consultant.

All experts nowadays recommended the reduction of the workforce at shipyards, apart from the need for the remaining workers to adopt higher standards.

"We need drastic reforms," he said.

In a statement, Social Policy Minister Lawrence Gonzi said that the restructuring of the shipyards was actually built upon the Appledore Report, in which Dr Mifsud Bonnici himself was involved.

Stressing that the EU did not in any way impose anything on the government, Dr Gonzi said the only intention of the government was to revive the shipyards and in the process reduce the millions of liri paid out as subsidies.

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