Girl Guides take on MPs for Europe Day

Labour environment spokesman Leo Brincat stood up in Parliament and remarked that it had been a while since so many sensible topics were broached by the other side of the House.

The Speaker of the House Louis Galea intervened and noted that 12 people had a chance to make interesting points in an hour. In a normal parliamentary sitting, only two MPs spoke in the same stretch of time.

This particular sitting on Saturday did not debate the future of pensions or the deficit. Instead, Girl Guides in their green uniforms sat on one side of the House while dark-suited Members of Parliament, from the Nationalist and Labour party, sat opposite them.

The two sides shared their views on subjects such as the environment, equal opportunities, health and education.

A Girl Guide argued that students should pay reduced rates for bus tickets and the public transport system should improve to include more routes and punctual trips.

Those students who live in areas where there is no direct bus to school, and have to catch several buses every day, end up forking out a lot of money on transport, explained Joselle Mallia, a student at Junior College.

"About €60 of our €80 stipend go towards getting to and from school," she said as she stood in the bench usually occupied by members of Parliament during a debate organised to mark Europe Day.

Across the purple-carpeted room, Resources Minister George Pullicino stood up to reply to her and agreed on the need for a reform in the public transport system.

For this to happen, he said, there was the need for public pressure to change the current transport culture and help overcome the fears faced by those who work in the system.

The debate was organised by the European Parliament Office and the European Commission Representation in Malta. Europe Day is held on May 9 to celebrate the day when, in 1950, Robert Schuman presented his proposal for the creation of an organised Europe in the name of keeping the peace among nations.

When talking about health, Claudia Bartolo touched on the need to address smoking, drinking and drug use among young people and ensuring that women have access to breast screening. Parliamentary Secretary Joseph Cassar stressed the government's commitment towards health and assured the girls that smoking and drinking were "not cool" and drugs were "deadly".

While some of the young ones listened attentively, others looked at one another and giggled as the MPs shared their opinions with them.

European Commissioner for Fisheries, Joe Borg, rounded up the debate and called on the young women to give a greater participation to society to ensure a stronger presence of women in Parliament, and other leadership roles.

Meanwhile, children celebrated Europe Day at the Floriana Football Club and St George's Square in Valletta where they gathered to display their skills and creativity.

President George Abela visited both events and later joined a ceremony in the Valletta square where awards were handed out to the Girl Guides who contributed to the parliamentary debate.