An attempt by the European People's Party to remove a resolution proposed by the Greens condemning Malta over spring hunting was defeated yesterday.
Nationalist MEPs Simon Busuttil and David Casa proposed, on behalf of the EPP group, to have the resolution taken off the agenda of the European Parliament's plenary session in Strasbourg.
However, following a vote called by Parliament president Hans Gert Poettering, the EPP's call was defeated by 89 votes in favour and 120 against. This means the resolution by the Green Group will now be tabled, debated and voted upon by the entire chamber on Thursday.
The proposed resolution was inserted in Parliament's agenda at the 11th hour last Friday, following the government's decision to allow spring hunting.
The European Parliament last week had already decided to grant permission to the chairman of its Petitions Committee, Marcin Libicki, to include an "oral question with a debate" on the issue. However, the Greens wanted to go a step further by proposing a resolution condemning the Maltese decision.
Sources yesterday said the EPP group was trying to stop the resolution as this was being considered as "unnecessary at the time being". This point was also made at the plenary session before the vote was taken last night. Nationalist MEP Simon Busuttil, on behalf of the EPP, said such a resolution was not justified as hunting in Malta was being permitted under a derogation within the framework of the Birds Directive. He said the derogation was subject to pre-accession discussions between Malta and the EU and argued that if hunting in Malta is not to be allowed any longer, this has to be decided according to scientific evidence and not due to political pressure.
Dr Busuttil's comments were reiterated by Nationalist MEP David Casa.
The Nationalist MEPs' arguments were rebutted by the co-chairman of the Green group Monica Frassoni. She said the resolution is needed because Malta is not applying EU rules.
When put to vote, the EPP proposal was defeated. The only Labour MEP present during the debate yesterday was John Attard Montalto, who voted with the EPP as he was against the resolution appearing on the agenda.
Originally, the issue of spring hunting in Malta was meant to be raised in the form of an "oral question with a debate" scheduled for today. This will still take place, followed by the Greens' resolution and a vote on it on Thursday.
In his oral question, Mr Libicki, a Polish MEP, says that despite the launching of the infringement proceedings against Malta by the Commission and the recommendations made by the Petitions Committee following a fact-finding mission last May, the Maltese government is preparing to authorise the hunting of wild birds during the coming spring, as it has done annually since it joined the EU in 2004.
Mr Libicki will be asking Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas to state clearly "what urgent measures is the Commission planning to take in order to persuade the Maltese authorities to effectively outlaw the practice of hunting wild birds in spring".
The European Commission last July decided to proceed against Malta insisting that spring hunting is not in conformity with its Birds Directive. The government argues differently and has already stated it is prepared to prove its arguments in front of the European Court of Justice.