EU leaders applaud ratification by Malta

EU leaders yesterday applauded Malta for its swift approval of the Lisbon Treaty after Parliament unanimously agreed to ratify the document on Tuesday night.

The treaty was also ratified by the Parliament of Slovenia, which currently holds the chair of the six-month rotating presidency, on the same day.

With the inclusion of Malta and Slovenia, the new treaty has now been endorsed by three out of the 27 EU member states. Hungary was the first to ratify the text last December.

European Commission President Josè Manuel Barroso congratulated Malta on the successful approval of the treaty and welcomed the fact that unanimous agreement was reached.

"I find it particularly symbolic that each of the first three countries to approve the new treaty are member states that joined the EU in 2004.

This shows that enlargement is an inspiration and an impetus for the future development of European integration," Mr Barroso said. Malta's approval was also mentioned at yesterday's opening of a mini-plenary session of the European Parliament in Brussels.

The president of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Poettering, said the unanimous ratification of the Lisbon Treaty by the Maltese House of Representatives is very good news for the European Parliament in which, once the new treaty enters into force, Malta will be represented by six members after the June 2009 elections.

"Last night, Maltese MPs not only signalled their firm commitment towards the European project but also voted for an enhanced role of the Maltese Parliament in the EU law-making process," Mr Poettering told MEPs.

The largest political group in the European Parliament, the European People's Party also issued a statement of congratulations.

Group chairman Joseph Dual said his group wanted to underline the fact that the ratification was of a particular significance to Malta as it had been historically divided on the issue of EU membership. "Now the Maltese political landscape is, to a large extent, in favour of further EU integration," Mr Dual said.

The Maltese delegation in the EPP-ED group, headed by Nationalist MEP Simon Busuttil, said Malta has once again confirmed it wants to be at the centre of the process of European unity.

Dr Busuttil and Nationalist MEP David Casa also welcomed the decision of the Malta Labour Party to back the treaty.

They said, however, that the MLP needs to do more to show it has truly come round to be a reliable party in Europe. "The MLP needs to show that its European policy is grounded in conviction and not convenience," they said, pointing to a statement by the Labour leader on TVM last Tuesday that if he returns to power he would seek to renegotiate Malta's EU membership package on a number of issues.

The two MEPs also took the Labour Party to task over the selection of a person currently employed with a euro-sceptic party in the European Parliament as one of its candidates for the forthcoming general election.

The Nationalist MEPs called for the party of European Socialists to take a stand on this matter.