KMB: Mintoff was against freezing talks with the EU in 1996
Dom Mintoff had disagreed with the Labour government's decision to freeze EU membership talks in 1996, Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici said today.
Writing in l-orizzont, Dom Mintoff's successor said: When the Nationalist Party lost the 1996 general election, Mintoff did not agree that the Labour government should stop the talks with the EU.
"He was of the view that the government should seize the opportunity presented by the EU membership talks to persuade the EU to reach an agreement with Malta, not for membership, but for an association in various sectors so that the union could help Malta reduce the huge debt which the Nationalist governments of 1987 and 1992 had run up."
Dr Mifsud Bonnici said the said that Mr Mintoff's Front Maltin Inqumu had also disagreed with the line taken by the Kampanja Helsien Nazzjonali which had been against the resumption of EU membership talks by the new Nationalist government in 1998.
Mr Mintoff's position was different from those of the PN, the PL or the Kampanja Helsien Nazzjonali. His position was that that the EU wanted Malta within its fold, and Malta should therefore exploit that situation. He was convinced that he could lead the EU to accept an association with Malta without Malta actually becoming a member, Dr Mifsud Bonnici said.
It was bad luck for Malta that Mr Mintoff could not lead the talks with the EU, Dr Mifsud Bonnici added. He did what he could, and even had talks with (EU Commission President) Romano Prodi in Brussels in 2003. But Prof Prodi said the EU could not discuss what he was advocating, once the government had adopted a different line.
As a result, the only choice which the people had in the EU referendum was not really between membership or partnership, but membership or nothing, Dr Mifsud Bonnic said. And nothing was interpreted as meaning that Malta would have been isolated.
Dr Mifsud Bonnici said it was shameful that the Nationalists had not utilised Mr Mintoff's negotiating skills in their talks with the EU, even though it was thanks to him that they were in a position to reopen the talks in 1998.
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joseph saliba
Aug 31st 2012, 11:05
You still believe KMB?
Karl Consiglio
Aug 31st 2012, 10:44
What does KMB have to say about the Pietru Pawl Busuttil frame up? He was PM then.
j brincat
Aug 31st 2012, 09:09
Boqq - isn't it now 'aqua passata'!
(jb)
Andre` Vella
Aug 31st 2012, 08:13
According to KNB, "He did what he could, and even had talks with (EU Commission President) Romano Prodi in Brussels in 2003. t Prof Prodi said the EU could not discuss what he was advocating, once the government had adopted a different line." Of courese, the government was a Nationalist one.
Doesn't that mean that Mintoff went behind the government's back? Are we going now to hear JPOS and Labour's cries of conspiracy behind people's backs?
No? Two weights and two measures then, of a hypocrite party and a disused MP!
Mr Joseph Carmel Chetcuti
Aug 31st 2012, 08:08
In a hundred years time we will all be forgotten ... except Mintoff!
G Schembri
Aug 31st 2012, 08:07
If he wanted an association with EU without Malta actually becoming a member, then he was in line with what the MLP wanted. Alfred Sant also wanted a partnership with the EU.
walter camilleri
Aug 31st 2012, 07:55
There is so much uninformed blogging from both sides going on that it might be worth making a few points - they probably won't be listened to, but anyway!
1) History is written by those who win the wars, and give Mintoff this much, by his death he won a war for the Labour Party at justthe right pre-election time.
2) Britain did not leave Malta because they loved Borg Olivier, Mintoff or the Maltese. They left because Britain was broke, they had a far better base in Cyprus and could not afford both. Aircraft available at the time had increased range, and could easily reach cyprus and the Canal Zone, so that strategically and militarily Malta had become unimportant. With nuclear submarines and ICBM's surface vessels and harbours to service them became irrelevant, and could in any event be taken out with just one bomb.
3) The EU was reluctant to take on Malta precisely because of its close ties with Gaddafi's Libya.
4) Norway has oil, and Switzerland has half of the World's cash in its Banks. Neither of them needed the EU, or would have gained from Membership because they would have become subject to EU rules aimed precisely at weakening their strengths. Malta's case in no way compares to theirs.
I don't see these arguments being taken on, because they contradict our recent history according to whoever happens to be in government at any given time.
Walter Camilleri
Carmel Garcia
Aug 31st 2012, 07:23
Issa kulhadd jibda jghid tieghu fuq dak li ried u ma riedx Mintoff. Issa ma jistax jirrispondi ghax m'ghadux maghna fuq l-art biex ikun jista jirrispondi. God rest his soul.
Lawrence Fenech
Aug 31st 2012, 01:46
Dom Mintoff was a tough negotiator when it came to dealing with foreign powers and never failed to get the best conditions for his beloved Malta. It's a pity that Mintoff was not in his best of health when we started with the EU I am sure things would have been different.
Peter Bonello
Aug 31st 2012, 08:20
i agree!!
Anthony Scicluna
Aug 31st 2012, 10:26
"I am sure things would have been different"
Prove it.
Everyone argues well with hindsight. Had it not been for the global crisis, we would have said, in hindsight, that EU membership was the all and be all of our woes. If Dr Mifsud Bonnici was privy to Mr Mintoff's position, why does he come out with it now?
Don't we always say to ourselves, if I chose differently this could have happened. The issue is that we didnt choose differently and therefore in our dimension it didnt happen. Big deal!
C Chircop
Aug 31st 2012, 00:04
I can see where Dom Mintoff was coming from. His strength lay in identifying any potential opportunities within the ongoing talks with the EU to obtain the best package possible. His shortcoming was not being able to adapt to the times - given the change of political landscape ( such as the end of the Cold War), Malta's strategic importance would have been scoped to our strong relations with Libya. Would that have been enough to cajole the EU In understanding and accepting our specific needs? It was already an uphill task to get the EU to consider Malta's EU membership application in the early 90s ( the late Prof. de Marco had gone on record several times on this). Ultimately, Mintoff's intentions here were for the country's benefit - credit where due.
John Azzopoardi
Aug 30th 2012, 23:50
I said this last week that Mintoff probably brought the government down in 1998 because he realized that Malta's place was in the EU . See my post under my name and it was the right call. I truly beleve he did this in the interest of the Maltese nation whether we agree or not. That is how it is.
F. Mercieca
Aug 31st 2012, 10:03
I agree with you. I never swallowed the fact that Mintoff revolted against the PL because of the Cospicua Marina. That was only an excuse. Mintoff in his forecast, for which he was unique, believed that it was not in Malta's best interest to be isolated. But I also believe that he wanted the PL to negotiate Malta's joining the EU. On the other hand I am certainly positive that he was also against Malta being a colony of Germany.
Richard Caruana
Aug 30th 2012, 22:41
Had enough of Mintoff.
We were so so peaceful and quiet during the last 14 years. Let's get back to that, for crying out loud.
And, by the way, we had forgotten about KMB as well. So let's keep it that way.
Joseph Farrugia
Aug 30th 2012, 22:06
I am wrong, or I seem to remember that KMB together with Mintoff founded 'Front Maltin Inqumu', a group aimed against the accession to EU?
U hallini, msieken ahna fi ftit xhur ohra, fiex ha jgibuh il-pajjiz dan nies.....
Nazzareno Cortis
Aug 31st 2012, 13:13
Farrugia----correction----u nikkwota kliemek-----"U hallini, msieken ahna fi ftit xhur ohra, fiex ha jgibuh il-pajjiz dan nies"---
Zgur li mhux se jgibuh ghar milli gabuh in-nazzjonalisti-----mimli dejn-----weghdi li ma nzammux----ecc.ecc.!
Inutli tipprova tbezza' ghax kollu ghalxejn!!!!Il-poplu ilu li xaba' min din l-amministrazzjoni-----anki l-grupp parlamentari nazzjonalista mhux jaqblu ma tmexxijja prezenti!!!!
Serrah rasek---zmien it-twerwir spicca!!!!
Eddy Privitera
Aug 30th 2012, 21:16
WHAT WE CERTAINLY HAVE ACQUIRED WITH EU MEMBERSHIP IS THIS . WE ARE SHARING THE FINANCIAL BURDEN WITH OTHER EU STATES TO HELP THOSE EUROZONE STATES WHICH ARE IN NEED OF BAILOUTS . BUT THE OTHER EU STATES ARE NOT SHARING THE BURDEN OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION WITH US !!!!!!!!!!!!
Richard Caruana
Aug 31st 2012, 06:48
Buy a new keyboard with lower case letters please. Hate people who shout
Mario Farrugia
Aug 31st 2012, 08:50
A pity you're not leading our country!
Karl Brincat
Aug 31st 2012, 09:03
Dear Eddy we got much more out of the EU hanini ..definitely more than 1 million your Labour Party tried to bluff its way around... WE GOT MILLIONS !! SO PLEASE GIVE UP ON THIS ONE.
JOSEPH VELLA
Aug 30th 2012, 20:46
L-aktar haga sew li qal Mintoff kienet li l-akbar zball ta' hajtu kien meta hatar lill-KMB min floku
Karl Consiglio
Aug 30th 2012, 21:51
Le dak missu waqaf wara r-Republika. Quit while you're on top.
He apponited KMB because he knew he was going to lose bigtime next time round.
And Mintoff was one bad loser, even in just a game of bocci.
Emmanuel Ebejer
Aug 30th 2012, 20:12
With all due respect, bury the dead and let them rest in peace!
Karl Consiglio
Aug 30th 2012, 21:33
When youre dead it doesnt make a difference because youre dead.
Lawrence Fenech
Aug 31st 2012, 01:47
@Emmanuel.
You cannot bury history, it follows you like a shadow.
Philip Grech
Aug 30th 2012, 20:06
Min jghid li hekk impossibbli u min jghid li xi hag'ohra impossibbli. Possibbli li m'hawn hadd minnkhom li jiftakar t-tahdidiet ma l-Ingilterra u n-Nato, Helsinki, trattattivi mal-hijackers tal-KLM, u mitt haga'ohra. Mintoff dejjem sab min ipprova jaqtalu qalbu imma hu ghaddas rasu u dejjem irnexxielu. Il-verita hi li ma tistax tkejlu ma nies li hawn madwarna fil-mument.
Mario Vella
Aug 30th 2012, 20:27
Prosit Mr Grech agree 100%
Karl Consiglio
Aug 30th 2012, 21:39
Mintoff was an impatient bully.
Borg Olivier, by comparrison, had a more slowly but surely gentleman's attitude that did more for us as we all know.. Got us our Independence...And Mintoff was very jealous of this.
Lawrence Fenech
Aug 31st 2012, 01:49
@Philip.
Prosit, Dom Mintoff kien lussu ghal Malta.
Philip Grech
Aug 31st 2012, 06:37
Sur Consiglio,
Jien ma ridtx inqabblu ma hadd gha jidhirli li mhux sewwa, imm'issa ha nghidlek. Mintoff ma kien ghajjur ghal hadd minhabba l-Indipendenza ghax hu witta t-triq ghaliha. Forsi ddispjacieh li wara dak l-inkwiet kollu ma l-Inglizi ra x'kienu l-kundizzjonijiet li gab Borg Olivier wara; per ezempju tliet xhur bla waqfien jiddiskuti ma l-Inglizi gewwa Londra.
Martin Bonello
Aug 30th 2012, 19:31
For the first time in my life I am in total, diametrically opposed, disagreement with William Shakespeare . Mark Antony had spoken thus of Julius Caesar - "The evil that men do lives after them, the good is oft interred with their bones". We just saw the exact opposite before, during and after last Saturday's interment.
I shudder to think what else is going to be made up as having been a 'Bis-sahha ta' Mintoff....' (Thanks to Mintoff) Our climate, maybe?
KMB - pull the other one ..................please! He had referred to the EU as the Europe of Cain, and at the University in 2003, I heard him with my own ears calling us students 'mixtrijin' (bribed) into being pro-EU. We Maltese seem to have recently been cursed with a national dementia where it comes to Mintoff. We have forgotten everything that was, and accepting versions of what definitely was not.
Mr Kevin Zammit
Aug 30th 2012, 21:55
its a good quote but when you quote you should always quote in full not the parts that are convenient for your beliefs
"Illum hemm żewġ Ewropi: L-Ewropa ta' Kain u l-Ewropa ta' Abel. L-Ewropa ta' Kain moħħha biex tikkonkwista u l-Ewropa ta' Abel hija progressiva. Huwa ma' din l-Ewropa li xi darba rridu nilħqu ftehim."
http://mt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dom_Mintoff
i certainly do not think I'm up to the task of adding anything to that
Richard Caruana
Aug 31st 2012, 06:55
@ K Zammit
Missek zidt li l-Ewropa progressiva ghal Mintoff kienet dik ta' Ceaușescu, u ohrajn bhal Josip Broz Tito. U l-prova qieghda li lid-dittatur Ceaușescu, li niesu kellhom inehhuh b'rivluzzjoni, kien tah Gieh ir-Repubblika! Bhalu kien ta lil Gaddafi, ghax dak kien ta' l-Afrika progressiva wkoll.
Nasal biex nippreferi l-Ewropa l-ohra.
C Sant
Aug 31st 2012, 08:01
@ Kevin
L'ewropa ta Abel: Hungary, Bulgaria, Czech republic, Slovenia, Slovakia, Romania, east Germany, Latvia, lithuania, Estonia = EU, others Ukraine, Serbia, Bosnia, montenegro, FY Macedonia, Croatia, Albania seeking Eu membership. The remaining country, the ex soviet union, disintegrated and disappeared in Malta, 1989! So actually the "progressive" Europe is today part of the Eu, l'ewropa ta Cain!
Stop inventing myths, repeating old myths and let us start calling a spade a spade! If you want to go back to live the 70's and early 80's, just take a ticket to Cuba and leave us in peace.
Joseph E Briffa
Aug 30th 2012, 19:29
What a lot of nonsense. Every other day, KMB discovers something new about Mintoff. The EU is a club; when you ask to join a club, you either accept the rules or you don't; of course you can get derogations from EU rules but always within the parameters of those rules. I believe that Mintoff in his inimitable manner would have gone to the EU laying down his own rules. But, what would have been the outcome? Mintoff and the Maltese ridiculed by the EU? And could not the Maltese have been told ad tempo vergine that the EU needed Malta as a member? Same delusions of grandeur.
Eddy Privitera
Aug 30th 2012, 21:03
Joseph E. Briffa: When a country joins the Eu, it doesn't just accepts the existing rules of the club, but accepts ALL OTHER FUTURE RULES, without knowing what those rules are going to be !
Look at those countries which entered into a partnership agreement with the EU, such as Switzerland, for example. It is just bound by the various agreements on various sectors which it signed with the EU. The EU has no right to add on any other regulations etc.. without an agreement reached with Switzerland. That is the best agreement we could have made with the Eu. And this is what Dom Mintoff must have wanted, according to KMB who knows very well what Mintoff wanted !
Mary Ann Borg
Aug 30th 2012, 22:48
You just dont get it do you Sur Privitera? The Malta in the Mediterranean idea was totally squashed by the Maltese both in the referendum and the following election in 1998.
It also just shows that Mintoff's and Alfred Sant's positions were almost identical. Both didnt want EU membership and both wanted to sign some form of agreement with the EU, short of membership. Remember Lejber's ' No to Full Membership' - Le ghal shubija shiha fl-Unjoni Ewropea'?. That died the moment the majority of the Maltese opted for a proper membership, a membership that you and Lejber still reject (some secretly , others more openly like you) and yet you have neither realized nor accepted even that simple fact.
GL Calleja
Aug 30th 2012, 19:24
KMB, the man is dead, let him be. Show some respect.
cesco di luigi
Aug 30th 2012, 19:17
Ok ..now tell us what his opinion was on freezing of: (i) eggs (ii) embryos (iii) battered fish. I think these are more current matters than EU..which is more in the melting or evaporation stage of its metamorphoiss. X'tahsbu?
Michael borg
Aug 30th 2012, 19:15
I think that Malta as a member needs more than it is given because its found in a strategic position. The Nationalists were elected as an excuse but this party has to thank even labour supporters if its a truly demochristian party
J Martinelli
Aug 31st 2012, 15:07
Yes Michael borg, Malta always 'needs' and 'wants' and 'expects' and 'demands', Better still, 'Jew b'xejn, jew xejn'! In other words, accept charity and offer nothing in return, very much like we were in the 70s and 80s. We should look forward to paying back some to the EU because that will prove that we finally are capable of standing on our two feet, our economy brisk enough to yield a surplus and that we are truly democratic and willing to give a hand at the overall prosperity of the EU.
Our 'strategic' position is accidental and in today's terms quite inconsequential. We cannot sell our strategic position, but we can reap secondary benefits from it such as record tourist visits, climatic benefits and the like.
Of course we should all thank Labour supporters who voted for joining the EU and it is for this very reason that these same Labour supporters will ensure, come next election, that the Labour Party which has accidentally let slip its intentions of reopening negotiations with the EU, will stay on the Opposition benches one more time.
It is the voters who have to prove that they value democracy and not any political party, principally the Labour Party!
J Martinelli
Aug 30th 2012, 19:13
Another rewrite of the Labour Party history?
Now that KMB spoke, Labour supporters will believe that Mintoff was pro-EU. The dumping on Alfred Sant continues unabated even now when he is a back bencher in Opposition! How heartless can the Labour machine be towards its own?
According to KMB's own deduction, "Malta had only one choice, membership or nothing, And nothing was interpreted as meaning that Malta would have been isolated".
So, by KMB campaigning against EU membership, he preferred possible isolation for Malta! Labour leaders have been so confused for so long, it boggles sane minds.
Karl Consiglio
Aug 30th 2012, 18:52
With the EU, you are either in, or you're out. Simple as that. Especially for a small country as Malta...What talking? Thankfully we are in it.
carlos ellul
Aug 30th 2012, 19:20
Switzerland, Norway.....
This 'small nation' mentality was the one used to deter us from leaving colonialism and gain our freedom. Time and time again we've proven that we're not as insignificant as the typical foreigner's ruffian think we are.
Regarding negotiating with the EU for a better/different deal, well who knows what those negotiations would have achieved in the first place. Maybe we wouldn't have spared our country this ridiculous situation were immigrants are forced to stay here against their will and our MEPs are reduced to beggars pleading with the big guys so that they will take 10 of these resources out of our hands. We never had these sort of problems before didn't we?
Mr Joe Micallef
Aug 30th 2012, 19:51
Carlos Ellul you may not know, but Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein pay the EU to enjoy selected freedoms enjoyed by EU members. In a nutshell the conditions are set by the EU.
You may wish to look up some info on EFTA before writing further. Quite obviously the PL was never interested in EFTA.
carlos ellul
Aug 30th 2012, 21:17
Three of those countries are in a better financial position then the majority of Europe. No one argues that it would have been a give and take situation. However I think that a good negotiator would have considered all options at hand.
John Caligari
Aug 30th 2012, 18:48
Everybody saying this and that after his leaving us. They never had the courage to say it when he was alive. Who can one believe.
Jimmy Ventura
Aug 30th 2012, 18:46
Karm, ma kont tghidlu xejn dwar l-AIDS lil Mintoff dak iz-zmien?
Joseph Cauchi Senior
Aug 30th 2012, 18:42
So, could this be the new line of thinking of the new PL?
Thank you KMB for indicating to us the strategy and policies that the new Labour government led by Joseph Muscat might be adopting in due course, with Karmenu Vella in tow!
Will Joseph Muscat clearly state what his government’s relations with the European Union once he will be in government in a few months’ time will be, so that the floating voter and the disgruntled PN supporters will duly take note of that?
JC.
Jimmy Ventura
Aug 30th 2012, 20:33
With all due respect to the Seniors here, I must comment that the same people that when KMB was the Prime Minister of Malta you did not believe a word he said so much so that you used to call him Zero. Now with all due respect to KMB, that he has absolutely no say in the PL you want us to believe that he is in power.
If you feel so happy to fool yourself this way, then enjoy it. Kullhadd kuntent, kullhadd ferhan!
twanny borg
Aug 30th 2012, 18:36
fin-1996 malta setghet minflok innegozjat u gabet kundizzjonijiet hafna ahjar milli sar snin wara peress li ma' malta kienu qed jinnegozjaw 9 pajjizi ohra. ghaliex kmb qatt ma qal qabel dan?
Karl Consiglio
Aug 30th 2012, 18:31
"Mintoff was against freezing talks with the EU in 1996 "
Dak kien jonqos, he freezes talks, we would have wound up as nothing but a rock in the middle of the sea that nobody knows about.
Eddy Privitera
Aug 30th 2012, 21:10
Karl Consiglio: Jaqaw qatt ma taqra xejn x'jiktbu opinjonisti, ekonomisti u gurnalisti barranin , dwar l-UE u specjalment dwar l-ewro ?
Karl Consiglio
Aug 31st 2012, 10:48
Of course I do, what are you refering to?
Joe Buttigieg
Aug 30th 2012, 18:31
"Dr Mifsud Bonnici said it was shameful that the Nationalists had not utilised Mr Mintoff's negotiating skills in their talks with the EU"
you are kidding!
ROBERT HIDE
Aug 30th 2012, 18:10
Who cares ? It's water under the bridge. The EU's in debt as is most of Europe.
Joseph Micallef
Aug 30th 2012, 18:02
Call me stupid, but I am not understanding the line of thought and reasoning here! How could we have continued with the accession negotiations when in fact what Mintoff and KMB wanted was "not for membership, but for an association in various sectors"!! The negotiations were only for accession not for other things!
Mario Vella
Aug 30th 2012, 18:28
KMB said that Mintoff would have continued with the talks but change directions. That's all you have to understand.Is that so hard to understand? In my opinion if one really looks at it in an objective way,it is relevant!
Mr Tony Gatt
Aug 30th 2012, 18:42
@ Mario Vella
Sorry, but with the E.U. you are either in or you are out. There is no half-way house. Norway, for example is not in but trades with the E.U. However, that means tarriffs are put on Norwegian goods and produce, such as oil, fish, gas etc.
Malta was hardly in a stong negiating position.
M. Mifsud
Aug 30th 2012, 19:05
@ Mr Tony Gatt.
Qed tara kemm tifhem Sur Gat!. Mela int hsiebt li l-EU ma tapprezzax u ma tevalwax l-importanza ta' Malta bhala gzira f'nofs il-Meditterran, bhala bridge bejn l-Ewropa u l-Afrika? Ezatt fit-tarf ta' l-Ewropa? Pozizzjoni strategika aktar minn hekk? Li kieku l-gvern gharaf jisfrutta dan il-vantagg, kieku Malta kien ikollha dak li l-Inglizi jsejjhu 'a strong negotiating position'. Pero' il-Gvern Nazzjonalista ghazel li jkun laqghi u ara x'hadna. Imma kollhu ta' xejn. Issa l-froga lesta.
Tony Borg
Aug 30th 2012, 19:10
Yes Tony what about Switzerland..............they were asked to negotiate and join just like us but they did not opt to join till this day and they are in a better position than us for sure.
Mr Tony Gatt
Aug 30th 2012, 21:05
@ M. Mifsud
The E.U. is about trade. Malta can't be neutral and be strategically important to the E.U. You can't have it both ways. It was important to the British but times have moved on.
Tony Borg- Norway said 'no thanks' to the E.U. and it says it is better off. Many people in the U.K. would like to return to the Common Market- a completely different concept to a Federal Europe run by Germany, which incidentally was what Hitler wanted.
martin said
Aug 30th 2012, 18:02
Dan qatt ma jaqta qalbu??
m borg
Aug 31st 2012, 00:48
Le.
Joseph Portelli
Aug 30th 2012, 17:56
Viva l-Labour!!!!!!!!!!!!
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