Malta’s sixth member of the European Parliament, Joseph Cuschieri, has written to EP President Jerzy Buzek calling for the wish of Maltese and Gozitans that he represents them on the EP to be granted as soon as possible.
Mr Cuschieri said that unfortunately, more than a year and a half has elapsed since the Maltese elected him to the EP and more than a year has elapsed since the Lisbon Treaty came into force.
“Hitherto, I have been unjustly deprived from commencing my work in the European Parliament due to both the inefficiency and lack of concrete initiative that the European Parliament has embraced, and the excessive and unwarranted bureaucracy in some EU States that has prolonged the process of the ratification of Protocol 36.
“In reality, the latter does not directly depend on you. Yet, the former does depend on you a great deal.”
Mr Cuschieri said that inefficiency and lack of concrete initiative were evident from the fact that since last June, he had not even been invited to represent his country at an observer level in the EP, as provided for by the Méndez de Vigo report approved by the European Parliament prior to the signature of Protocol 36 by all the member states in the June 2010 Intergovernmental Conference.
“In my opinion, this is unacceptable in a modern democracy since it leads to a democratic deficit which is unquestionably affecting Malta in a negative way.
“It also constitutes lack of respect towards the Maltese and Gozitan citizens who made a democratic choice more than a year and a half ago.
“It is entirely in your remit as President of the European Parliament and moreover as President of the Conference of Presidents to find a solution without any further procrastination and invite me, pending the ratification of Protocol 36, to represent the Maltese and Gozitan families as an observer member of the European Parliament,” he said.
Noting that his patience was running out, Mr Cuschieri said it was unacceptable that the Maltese and Gozitans were being taken for a ride regarding their 6th EP seat.
“It seems to me that you should treat the observer status issue as an urgent matter. During your visit to Malta I eagerly expect to hear from you, as President of the European Parliament, a concrete offer for a concrete solution to the observer status predicament in terms of facts, rather than yet again more rhetoric on this extremely important national and European political matter,” Mr Cuschieri said.