The government's decision to apply to re-join the Partnership for Peace (PfP) was in Malta's best interest and would not impinge in any way on the country's neutrality, Foreign Minister Tonio Borg said yesterday.
The PfP is a programme of bilateral cooperation between individual partner countries and Nato. It allows partner countries to build up an individual relationship with Nato, choosing their own priorities for cooperation.
Malta had already joined the PfP in 1995 but membership was withdrawn by the Labour government when it was elected in 1996. Speaking to The Times, Dr Borg explained that, since then, Malta has lost out on training for the Armed Forces of Malta, given its natural insularity as an army of a small country.
The reactivation of Malta's membership was Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi's proposal, Dr Borg said. He said there were a number of reasons for the decision, including the gaining of access to certain documents and participation in debates within the European Union.
"We have been experiencing difficulties within the organs of the European Union concerning the debates relating to defence and sometimes even foreign policy because of our non-membership of the Partnership for Peace. This is why all neutral countries in the EU joined the PfP, with the exception of Malta and Cyprus. Malta was finding it difficult to obtain Nato documents on defence matters and it is important for Malta to participate fully in all meetings and get access to all documents," he said.
"Moreover, it is an excellent opportunity for the AFM to be outward-looking in training and joint exercises and will diminish the natural insularity of an armed force of a small country. These were the two main reasons why the government saw it important and in the country's best interest to reactivate Malta's PfP membership."
Dr Borg said that since the last time Malta was a member, even Switzerland, the most neutral country in the world, joined the PfP.
He explained that each member drafts its own individual programme. "We will not be involved in military operations. We will be involved in training, in joint exercises, humanitarian aid, exercises in search and rescue areas, and management of crisis in natural disasters. These are very similar to the programme which we had drafted and agreed to way back in 1995."
Asked about the timing of such a decision, Dr Borg said there will be a summit in April during which Malta's application will be considered.
"The decision to reactivate Malta's membership will not impinge in any way on the country's neutrality, especially since Switzerland and Russia are also members of the PfP. It is in Malta's interest to join because we felt that we now have a better atmosphere as EU member states to discuss certain matters and we thought it was stupid that our non-membership should be such an obstacle especially in view of the procedural difficulties we were encountering."
Contacted for the Labour Party's reaction to the decision, acting leader Charles Mangion said the opposition was completely unaware of the government's intention to reactivate Malta's membership, saying this lack of consultation seemed to be the government's new way of conducting politics.
"The government did not inform us about the implications of PfP membership and there was no parliamentary debate on the matter. Since the Labour government pulled Malta out in 1996, we have never heard anything about it. The Nationalist Party did not include this in its electoral manifesto, not even as part of its foreign policy. The implications and the long-term effects this will have on our country are important for us to know. We believe it compromises Malta's neutrality as enshrined in the Constitution," he said.
Dr Mangion said the MLP did not agree with Malta's PfP membership and this was not "on the MLP's agenda".
Asked about the lack of consultation, Dr Mangion said he received a call from Dr Borg informing him about the government's decision to reactivate Malta's membership "and that was it".
There are 23 members in the PfP including Austria, Croatia, Finland, Switzerland, Russia, Sweden and Ireland, among others.
Meanwhile, the United Kingdom and the United States have reacted positively to the government's decision. British High Commissioner Nick Archer said: "The UK is delighted by Malta's decision to re-enter PfP. The key thing for us is that Malta will be able to participate more fully in European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) activity, which means that it can in future make a bigger contribution to keeping Europe safe and to the EU's effort to create a more peaceful world."
On his part, US Acting Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Daniel Fried said: "The United States welcomes Malta's decision to request reactivation of its cooperation with Nato's Partnership for Peace (PfP) and the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council. These institutions make a valuable contribution to Euro-Atlantic security and dialogue. PfP has effectively strengthened relationships between states in Europe and North America, increased practical cooperation and underlined our common commitment to democratic principles."