Maltese membership of the European Defence Agency could compromise the country's neutrality, according to both Labour former Prime Minister Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici and Alternattiva Demokratika chairman Harry Vassallo.

Opposition leader Alfred Sant told The Times when contacted yesterday that the Labour Party was considering the background and context of the issue.

Last week Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Frendo announced the cabinet had decided that Malta would join the European Defence Agency. Dr Frendo was addressing the EU council for the first time since he was appointed Foreign Minister on July 4.

Both Dr Mifsud Bonnici and Dr Vassallo were afraid that the new development could go against Malta's constitution, which stated that "Malta is a neutral state actively pursuing peace, security and social progress among all nations by adhering to a policy of non-alignment and refusing to participate in any military alliance".

"According to our constitution, Malta cannot take part in any military alliance, and therefore being part of the agency goes against our constitution," Dr Mifsud Bonnici said when contacted.

Making it a point that he was speaking in his personal capacity, he said Malta's involvement in the European Defence Agency was "definitely" an infringement of the constitution.

The European Defence Agency is designed to support member states in efforts to improve the continent's defence capabilities in the field of crisis management and to sustain the European defence and security policy both as it stands now and as it may develop in the future.

Dr Mifsud Bonnici said the European Defence Agency is contemplated in the EU constitution. He said there was no doubt that the agency was linked to the policy of mutual defence.

"The European Defence Agency is there to coordinate the purchase, production and development of weapons, and is common for all EU countries," he said.

The former premier explained that this involved an expense that Malta did not need to incur, since in the eventuality that the country needed to buy weapons, it could always follow the lead of other EU countries and buy weapons that had been approved by them without having to join the agency.

Dr Mifsud Bonnici expressed his concern about the fact that the EU constitution stated that in case a member country was subject to a terrorist attack, all the other countries would be obliged to help.

"This is an obligation, and there is no need for unanimous consent," he said.

He explained that if Italy or the United Kingdom - which were both under a terrorism threat because of their involvement in the Iraq war - were subject to terrorism, the other EU countries, including Malta, would be obliged to help.

Also worrying, he said, was the fact that officials of the Armed Forces of Malta were regularly taking part in EU military meetings in Brussels, which, he said, meant an annual cost of Lm1.5 million.

Dr Mifsud Bonnici said that although soldiers were presently going as volunteers, new recruits were bound by a clause stating that they could be sent abroad.

He explained that the EU had a plan to develop battle groups, which would be sent to the four corners of the world at a fortnight's notice. He said their job would not only revolve around the safeguarding EU countries, but the entire world.

"Malta is participating in this plan even though according to our constitution the country cannot integrate itself into such plans," he said.

When asked whether Malta's joining the European Defence Agency might compromise Malta's neutrality, Dr Vassallo said this was a matter of interpretation. He said if the agreement was interpreted "to the letter", then there was no breach, but if it was followed in the spirit, then there could be a breach.

"It is a big risk to Malta's position of neutrality," he said, adding that AD's stand was that a military alliance was not beneficial for Malta.

Dr Vassallo said that although the government was saying joining the agency was solely a logistical agreement, it did involve future policies that had not been established yet.

The AD chairman said the EU constitution did not oblige a member state to join the agency, and it would have, therefore, been better for Malta, an actively neutral country, to stay out of this.

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