MEP protests over lack of Maltese interpretation

Nationalist MEP Simon Busuttil has officially protested about the lack of Maltese interpretation services in the European Parliament.

Speaking in Parliament during a debate on freedom, security and justice in the EU, Dr Busuttil registered his strong protest over the lack of interpretation facilities for the Maltese language.

He said: "These shortcomings are causing unnecessary inconvenience to Maltese members of the House". He said this was not acceptable as Maltese was an official language of the EU and the Parliament should rectify the matter as soon as possible.

This was the first time that this issue has been officially raised during a formal parliamentary session. However, Maltese MEPs had already complained about the situation.

Speaking to The Times following this week's session, Dr Busuttil said he would be speaking to the other Maltese MEPs in order to establish what further action to take.

In his speech Dr Busuttil referred to the problem of illegal immigration in Malta saying that "the time has really come to stop talking and start acting to express solidarity in practice".

He said Europe needed to acknowledge that illegal immigration was a common European problem. In the first nine months of the year, Malta received 1,200 illegal immigrants, he said, adding that the country required European support to deal with the problem.