Hauliers' issue in Italian parliament

Arnold Cassola, the Maltese Green MP in the Italian parliament, has put a parliamentary question to Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema asking him to ensure that the Maltese hauliers held in Sicily be treated as their Italian counterparts.

In his question, Prof. Cassola said that the three haulers blocked in Sicily had requested Foreign Minister Michael Frendo to intervene with the Italian authorities so that their trucks be allowed to leave Sicily.

Prof. Cassola underlined the need for equal treatment for Italian and other EU citizens, such as the Maltese persons in question. The hauliers - Ivan Hallett, Raymond Borg and Raymond Cini - were held by the Guardia di Finanza who suspected that they were carrying illegal goods and that they did not have the necessary documentation for the merchandise. They said three Maltese trucks and two Italian trucks were seized by the Italian authorities that were carrying out spot checks.

The Italian trucks were allowed to leave without being checked while the Maltese trucks were kept in Italy.