Updated: Talks on democracy "without pre-conditions" - Gonzi

(Adds comments made in Parliament this evening)

The government and the opposition have agreed on the setting up of a parliamentary select committee to discuss strengthening democracy. The Labour Party announced the agreement this afternoon and the Prime Minister confirmed it in a statement to the House this evening.

The committee will discuss proposals made by the Prime Minister and Labour leader Joseph Muscat in a recent exchange of correspondence.

Each side will nominate three members and three substitute members to the committee. Meetings will be presided by the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker, who will not have a vote.

The committee has been asked to submit a report on progress by October 31.

The MLP said the agreement on the select committee was reached after talks between Dr Gonzi and Dr Muscat.

Dr Gonzi in comments to to the House said the committee will be formed of Tonio Borg, Austin Gatt and Francis Zammit Dimech for the government and Anglu Farrugia, Charles Mangion and Karmenu Vella for the opposition. The substitute members will be Michael Frendo, Beppe Fenech Adami and Charlo' Bonnici for the government and Evarist Bartolo, Michael Falzon and George Vella for the opposition.

He said the two sides were going into the talks without pre-conditions in order to address issues in the national interest. The road ahead was not easy but he was confident that both sides would seek what was best for the country. He said each item will be tackled independently and not as a package. The committee will regulate its own procedures and will be able to hear the views of civil society. The committee could agree to divide itself in two committees to discuss several items together, the Prime Minister said.

Anglu Farrugia (MLP) said the agreement on the setting up of this select committee with equal membership from both sides was significant, as was the fact that to a large extent both sides had agreed in their correspondence on what needed to be discussed.

Dr Farrugia said the Labour Party would put the national interest first and he augured that the result would be a better electoral law, a law on party funding, more effective measures against corruption and a better resourced Parliament, among other areas. He agreed with Dr Gonzi that the substitute members could be brought in so that two committees could work at the same time,

The MLP said two sides have also started meetings for a solution of instances where people won cases before the Tribunal for the Investigation of Injustices but the government did not implement the recommendations made in their favour.

Dr Farrugia said a first meeting was held yesterday to discuss the issues on the injustices tribunal and progress had already been made in identifying the cases which needed to be resolved. That too showed the commitment of both sides to move forward.