Wednesday, 9th July 2008
Malta should recognise Kosovo - Tonio Borg
The government believes it should recognise Kosovo as an independent country, something that has already been done by 43 nations, including 20 in the European Union.
Foreign Affairs Minister Tonio Borg told the European and Foreign Affairs Committee that the seven EU countries which had not yet recognised Kosovo had internal ethnic problems, except for Malta and Portugal. Although it has not yet recognised Kosovo, Portugal has already declared that it will.
Kosovo, Dr Borg said, had not just formed a government but had a Constitution and he personally, as well as the government, believed Malta should recognise Kosovo as a new state.
Recognition would bring its problems. It was difficult, for example, to imagine Kosovo as a member of the UN because Russia, and probably also China, would exert their veto to prohibit this.
The case of Kosovo, Dr Borg said, was unique in an international context. Malta should not be the last EU country to recognise Kosovo and it was good to recognise this new state at this point, now that a new Serbian government was being formed.
Labour MPs George Vella and Leo Brincat both said they did not have a particular position for or against the recognition of Kosovo as a state.
Dr Vella said that with the situation of Kosovo he was seeing a repetition of what had taken place in the EU with the membership of Greece, Portugal and Spain. The membership of these countries had been hastened in a bid to anchor them in democracy.
He pointed out that in spite of Kosovo's unilateral declaration, there were already boiling spots in the north going against the declaration.
He asked whether Malta was convinced that Kosovo was sustainable as a state. Would it be able to stand on its feet, he asked, warning that political or economic instability would bring a greater chance of unrest.
The more Malta sought to help hasten the Balkan states' membership of Europe, the quicker problems would be ironed out.
Mr Brincat said he was afraid that a state was being created on a purely-ethnic basis. There were concerns that recognition could undermine international law and reduce the prospects of long-term peace. He hoped that time would prove him wrong.
Nationalist MP Beppe Fenech Adami said he believed that what was currently taking place in Kosovo was a continuation of the process of fragmentation of the former Yugoslavia, which had kept several races together in an artificial manner. He said that if Malta recognised Kosovo as a state it would be doing justice to Kosovo and facilitating its international recognition.
Nationalist MP Charlo' Bonnici asked what the repercussions would be if Kosovo was not recognised by the United Nations.
Committee chairman Michael Frendo said the matter was a complex one and should be treaded carefully and wisely. Malta had been careful, this was a new situation and never before had a country been born without a UN resolution.
Although the EU had no right to direct any of its members to recognise a new state, it would take a unilateral decision to continue stabilising Kosovo because stability in the Balkans was an overriding interest.
He proposed that when Malta recognised Kosovo, it should, in support of Cyprus whose northern part was occupied, point out the unique situation of Kosovo in its declaration of recognition.
Dr Borg said he would be taking up Dr Frendo's suggestion in support of both Cyprus and Spain, which were among Malta's greatest friends in the EU.
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Comments
I can see that you are now talking against Arab states, but do not forget how much aid you have obtained during the Kosovo Conflict from the Arab States and Waahabi Movements, and just how many Mujahadeen have fought on the albanian side. and committed atrocities against the Serbian civilians.
Will you some day turn against Malta like that too? Even though it too contributed to Kosovo independence?
Regarding the typical comments by albanians who have nothing better to say in their defence than "Serb's are a genocidal nation". Maybe you got your history wrong, but open up any encyclopedia and you will see that Serbian monuments predate any albanian ones in Kosovo by at least 500 years. Concerning your comments that Serbians are genocidal, do not forget that the albanians have been systematically picking off Serbian people for more that 50 years in Kosovo, as demographic data of the region can show that the Serbian population has been in decline, while the albanian one has been increasing (due to high reproduction and inmigrants from albania proper). That is why there are now more than 90% of albanians in Kosovo and Metohija. Not to mention the last 8 years since the NATO "Peacekeepers" have arrived in Kosovo, and how many Serbian people have meen mercilessly murdered or went missing.
Secondly I would like to express grave concern for such a position by Mr. Tonio Borg. In my opinion he has acted rashly and irresponsibly by turning Malta's position from neutral, to pro- Kosovo independence, which could hinder Malta's growing interest and investments in Serbia.
Kosovo is now recognized by USA, Canada, Australia and more than 20 countries of the EU. I think it is clear for Malta which way to go. Malta should join western democratic states and recognize Kosovo’s independence and not identify itself with totalitarian states like Russia or Arab world which are against Kosovo’s independence just because freedom is in itself a threat to them. Anyway, Kosovo’s independence is an irreversible process. Join it free people!
I see from your comments that you either read Serbian propaganda (the same one that justifies killings in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo) , or are completely uninformed about Kosovo.
Albanians that make approximately 90% of population of Kosovo are indigenous to the region. Serbs moved in the region in the 10th century.
The coordinated declaration of independence (not unilateral) was done by the freely elected parliament of Kosovo, under a UN and EU watch, after 2 years of unsuccessful talks hosted by special UN envoy.
It is also wrong to think that Kosovo sets a precedent, because unlike other autonomous regions in other countries, Kosovo had the same powers as other republics in the former Yugoslavia. This was confirmed by Mr. Stjepan Mesic, last President of Yugoslavia and current president of Croatia.
I don't think comparisons made here are fair, and I think Malta should do the right thing and join the rest of the EU on recognizing Kosovo.
Cheers,
If they are the first group then we should not recognise Kosovo.
Would it not be the same for us - if we let all these refugees to live in Malta ( who will never assimilate in our culture ) our future generations will suffer the same fate as the Kosovians -- but much earlier because our native population is much smaller.
Do not tell me I am a racist it is just common sense. Our MPs will only realise this when over 2300 ethnic voters realise that all they need to get their MP is to register their ID in one electoral district and then they will get their MP before AD and AN.