MEPs need to be good ambassadors - Gonzi

The Labour Party was more concerned with undermining the government's work than trying to find solutions to Malta's problems, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi charged yesterday.

He said while the PL used the European Parliament campaign to discredit the administration, the government had seriously attempted to solve the country's problems.

"What does the country gain if the Labour Party turns important issues into a political football?" he asked during a debate in Fgura.

He said the country needed "ambassadors" with a good know-how of the EU, who knew how to speak, whom to speak to and how to vote.

Last month two Labour MEPs messed up a crucial vote on whether EU member states should be obliged to share the illegal immigration burden, with John Attard Montalto voting against and Glenn Beddingfield not voting. Although they corrected their votes within the 24-hour timeframe allowed, the Nationalist party has lambasted them for not being alert enough on such an important vote for Malta.

Urging people to go out and vote for all PN candidates in Saturday's MEP elections, Dr Gonzi also called on people who have not yet collected their voting documents to do so.

He said that while the PL wanted to go to the EU to "stamp their feet" and bad-mouth the government, the PN wanted to bring the EU to Malta, adding that this had already been done through several EU projects, including for students.

MEP Simon Busuttil addressed the issue of illegal immigration, saying that between October and May the Nationalist MEPs did not have any help from their Labour counterparts in their efforts to make burden sharing obligatory.