Lino Spiteri (March 20) takes the Prime Minister and me to task on our address to a national conference held last weekend on the theme Making A Success Of EU Membership.

At the outset allow me to state that I did not recognise myself in the way my speech was reported in The Sunday Times (March 19) on which Mr Spiteri based his article. Nor did the Prime Minister who has already replied to correct the thrust of the coverage.

Allow me therefore to correct the wrong impression that may have resulted and that has certainly affected Mr Spiteri.

In my address I said that, in assessing the success of EU membership it is important to go beyond the issue of EU funding. Not that funding is not important. Yet, there are other issues where the impact, although positive, may not necessarily be quantified in financial terms. I also said that the success of membership necessarily needs to be gauged against the scenario of non-membership.

One positive impact was the acquisition of EU citizenship which gave us a set of new rights that apply not just in Malta's 316-square kilometre territory but throughout the entire EU territory. EU citizenship cannot easily be quantified in financial terms. And it would not have been acquired had we opted to stay out.

The same applies to other issues ranging from the participation of students and workers in EU programmes - an experience that can truly change the lives of the individuals involved - to Malta's contribution at the EU decision-making table.

I noted, for instance, that in my limited experience as an MEP, I can feel that Malta is rapidly becoming a point of reference for the EU on relations with non-EU Mediterranean countries, such as Libya and Tunisia. Equally, these two countries can feel that, in Malta, they have a good friend in the EU. Again, this is difficult to quantify financially. But it is a positive impact nonetheless.

There are other, maybe less evident, benefits of membership.

For instance, the restructuring of the ship-building and ship-repair sector in Malta was finally put on track during accession negotiations, when Malta committed itself to a restructuring programme that will see a drastic cut in public subsidies by 2008 and a new lease of life to this sector. This is saving taxpayers millions of liri every year.

Finally, EU membership, I said, has dramatically shifted the balance of power in terms of the civil rights enjoyed by Maltese citizens vis-à-vis their own government and national public administration. This shift has given citizens unprecedented rights to take a stand whenever they feel that their EU rights are not respected. If the government breaches your EU rights, you now have a remedy.

To my mind, this was a momentous development in terms of our civil rights and it should not be underestimated or taken for granted.

So there is no doubt that, two years on, the benefits of EU membership are accruing. And, of course, more needs to be done to explain the opportunities, to share experiences and to ensure that those who have not yet partaken in these benefits actually do so.

But we are on the right track.

This leaves us with one question that I addressed at the conference, the answer to which appears to have disturbed Mr Spiteri. I asked how can we now ensure that we continue to make a success out of membership.

My answer to this question was twofold.

In the first place, it is up to each and every one of us to make the best of membership. To go out and grab every available opportunity. Each opportunity that we miss will be snatched by others. So we should spare no effort in making the best of it. EU membership belongs to each and every one of us, not just some of us. So it is up to all of us to make the best of it and to ensure that the benefits are enjoyed as widely as possible.

Secondly, there must also necessarily be a political assessment of which political party is better suited to help the country continue to make the best out of membership.

My answer is that the PN is better qualified to do so. It is better suited than the party that vehemently sought to keep us out and certainly better suited than the person who spoke of membership in Alla hares (God forbid!) terms and who claimed that his "partnership" had won. This person still aspires to lead the country and is still adamant that his "partnership" was a better option. Indeed, given the chance at the helm, he suspended Malta's path to membership.

So it is in this sense that I wondered if anyone had any guarantee that, if returned to power, the MLP leader would not pull Malta out of the EU.

Yes, I do question the MLP's credibility - and reliability - on EU membership.

To Mr Spiteri this may be partisan politics. To me it is a political assessment that each and every voter is called upon to make. And I call on readers to reflect on this point.

And, of course, this does not mean that the people should be governed by a Nationalist government forever and ever, as Mr Spiteri wryly suggests. But it does mean that, certainly on the issue of EU membership, the PN has better credentials to do so.

Dr Busuttil is a Nationalist member of the European Parliament.

Editorial note: Complaining about misreporting is one thing; expecting a different type of coverage, perhaps a more extensive one, is another. Indeed, Dr Busuttil confirms the comments attributed to him in the report in question, comments to which Mr Spiteri reacted.