Burden sharing obviously not working
Gunther Verheugen during talks with Prime Minister Gonzi at Castille, yesterday. Also in the picture is Joanna Drake, head of EU representation in Malta.
The burden-sharing principle approved by EU member states in November was "obviously not working", European Commission Vice President Gunther Verheugen said yesterday.
Mr Verheugen added that "as a European citizen, I feel ashamed seeing that bigger and richer member states are not willing to implement the burden-sharing (principle) and really help Malta".
Replying to questions by The Times at a press conference at the end of his whirlwind visit, Mr Verheugen insisted that Malta was not the filter for the rest of Europe and the country was right to expect other EU countries to carry their part of the burden.
Mr Verheugen said he would encourage EU Justice Commissioner Jacques Barrot to table ambitious Commission proposals that would effectively solve the problem and ensure Malta did not have to carry the burden alone.
"If this had to happen in an average German town with 350,000 people, a revolution would start immediately. You must put it into perspective because Malta is a small, densely populated island and is the closest to Africa. I fully share the view of Mr Barrot that burden-sharing must be implemented," he said.
Asked whether he agreed with a recent Labour Party suggestion that Malta should use its veto on a number of issues to drive home the point on its problems on illegal migration, Mr Verheugen replied that "no responsible government would consider this unless it is the last resort".
Mr Verheugen, who was responsible for EU enlargement at a time when Malta was preparing for accession before joining in 2004, is now EU Commissioner for Enterprise and Industry.
At such a difficult time for the world economies, the effect the crisis was having on enterprise and industry was obviously high on the agenda in talks between Mr Verheugen and the Maltese authorities.
The matter was discussed with Finance Minister Tonio Fenech who said the talks focused on finding ways of continuing to support industry in such challenging times.
Mr Fenech said they had also discussed the semi-conductor industry, specifically STMicroelectronics in Malta, and how this industry could be assisted, even to retrain its workers.
He confirmed that the assistance the government was providing to Maltese companies facing difficulties was within the parameters of EU regulations.
Mr Verheugen said the automotive and semi-conductor industries were of strategic importance for Europe, which had to ensure it maintained a strong manufacturing base for these industries in Europe, including Malta.
Central to their discussions, he said, was the future of small- and medium-sized enterprises in the EU and the problems of production and administrative burdens, as well as encouragement for entrepreneurs.
Mr Verheugen said he was keen on visiting Malta for the first time since it joined the EU and noted that, at first sight, nothing had changed.
"When I was last here there were fears Malta would lose its identity but I couldn't see any of this during this visit. It is still Malta; it is the European Malta," he said.
"I am very happy that polarisation is finished and there is now a broad consensus that the EU membership was the right decision for the country and that without the European internal market and without the euro Malta would be in a desperate situation," he added.
Earlier, Mr Verheugen met President Eddie Fenech Adami, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and Opposition Leader Joseph Muscat.
Dr Gonzi said Mr Verheugen was visiting Malta at a challenging time for the country and others around the world and European countries had to help each other overcome the challenges.
He said the visit coincided with Malta's fifth anniversary of EU membership and the first anniversary since the euro's introduction "which was fantastic for us in the present circumstances".
Mr Verheugen said Malta was a positive contributor at an EU level, which showed that influence in the EU did not depend on size but character. He praised Malta for its positive role and thanked the island for being his ally on a number of issues under his portfolio.
Dr Fenech Adami told Mr Verheugen he was approaching the end of his term and was looking forward to it. In turn, Mr Verheugen replied that he too was happy because his term was also reaching an end too.
Referring to a courtesy meeting with Dr Muscat, Mr Verheugen said his meeting was pleasant because Labour was no longer opposing EU membership.
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Frank Portelli 2BFRANK
Mar 28th 2009, 16:57
Dear Gunther
Now we're talking
Mr Verheugen "as a European citizen, I feel ashamed seeing that bigger and richer member states are not willing to implement the burden-sharing (principle) and really help Malta".
I couldn't have said it better myself
I am certainly glad that the Malta Labour Party leadership did not manage to bite your tongue
Who ever thought of Voluntary Burden Sharing in the first place anyway ?
With the same reasoning Why not Voluntary VAT ? Now that would be a popular idea !
Your comments are certainly refreshing
I am all for being FRANK in the EU
Let's get to the root of the problem which is Libya
Libya is encouraging illegal immigrants to come to Malta
Ofcourse this is against international law
The EU should not be aiding Libya financially - until such time as Libya abides by international law
If elected as an MEP representing Malta - I will only support EU aid to Libya once libya stops illegal immigration
As they say in Malta "Prosit tal programm"
Frank Portelli
www.2bfrank4u.com
Ivan Attard
Mar 28th 2009, 15:18
"If this had to happen in an average German town with 350,000 people, a revolution would start immediately.''
Gunther Verheugen's comment goes a long way to show how spineless and meek most of the Maltese are (unless their pockets are fiddled with that is). If anything, this must be a rallying cry for mass demonstrations and protests at the passivity of the government in the face of these HUGE danger!
I M Dingli
Mar 28th 2009, 14:43
And while everybody is coming to Malta for short visits, we still keep on hearing the same bla bla. I would like to see these words put to practice now Mr. Verheugen.
john fenech
Mar 28th 2009, 10:59
In the space of a few days two European commissioners have arrived to the same conclusion. Twenty three (23) European countries do not care to be bothered about our crisis! They might offer platitudes and agree to forward more cash but as far as they are concerned that is the end of their responsibility!
Commissioner Gunther was candid to share his sentiment about how he felt but I believe that will not solve our problem. On the other hand we are encouraged not to use extreme measure if it can be avoided even though it is evident that our partners and friends are taking the mike.
In the mean time our Minister insists that as beggars we cannot be choosers!! We have to honour all our commitments and keep our Friend to the south out of the equation so that the EU's energy policy will not be compromised.
Yes I believe that we have to honour our responsibilities. But we must also utilize all that is permitted within the framework of negotiations to ensure that we will attain the support that will stop this crisis from getting completely out of hand.
Joanne Micallef
Mar 28th 2009, 10:47
Asked whether he agreed with a recent Labour Party suggestion that Malta should use its veto on a number of issues to drive home the point on its problems on illegal migration, Mr Verheugen replied that "no responsible government would consider this unless it is the last resort".
And there we have our answer, we simply cannot afford to wait any longer and therefore our Goverment should use the veto in order to get the EU's full attention, which will lead to factual help and not the usual empty words of understanding which lead to nothing other than our country still having to accept more thousands of illegal immigrants. Like Verheugen said If this had to happen in an average German town with 350,000 people, a revolution would start immediately, and over here many of us were labeled racists just for publicly voicing our concern.
louise vella
Mar 28th 2009, 10:39
Verheugen said “If this were to happen in an average German town with 350 000 people, a revolution would start immediately”.
He is not alone in admitting that the problem of illegal immigration has been let to grow to an alarming extent.
JRS Europe annual report for 2008 is out and available on
http://www.jrseurope.org/publications/JRS_FINAL_AR.pdfhttp://www.jrseurope.org/publications/JRS_FINAL_AR.pdf.
Its section on Malta says:
“With immigration being the number one issue on the national agenda, and public opinion strongly marked by a strong anti-immigrant feeling, the Maltese authorities continued to maintain a policy of detention upon arrival for irregular immigrants.”
So now everybody except the Gonzi government agrees that illegal immigration is the N° 1 problem in Malta. Will Dr Gonzi hold a public consultation process on the matter?
Please choose the reason of your report below: