Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi has made it clear he will not allow the internal rifts on his side of the House of Representatives to overshadow the “historic” 5+5 meeting taking place in Malta on Friday and Saturday.
He yesterday said this meeting, for which Malta had been preparing for several months, was important for the country. The confirmation of attendance by presidents and prime ministers of member countries was a “vote of confidence” in the island.
“It is a pity that while the country is preparing to host these leaders to discuss important issues such as democracy in Libya, Tunisia and Egypt, there are some people trying to divert the focus onto the local political scene,” he said, replying to the first question on the subject by a One News journalist.
He was asked for his reaction to rebel MP Franco Debono’s declaration that he would not support a government with Transport Minister Austin Gatt still in its Cabinet.
A l-Orizzont journalist asked whether he was still adamant on presenting the Budget with all these problems, to which Dr Gonzi replied: “Until Friday, when these leaders arrive in Malta, I will surely not present any Budget. After this important summit, we shall see.”
Dr Gonzi expressed enthusiasm about the summit, which he said was the first top level meeting after the Arab Spring and would be focused mainly on that development.
The meeting was a showcase of international dialogue, he said.
Most of the meetings will be held at Verdala Castle, with other discussions held at Castille, the Prime Minister’s office.
Among the items on the agenda are security, the environment and illegal immigration.Asked by The Times what Malta was expecting to emerge on illegal immigration, Dr Gonzi said the matter would form part of the final declaration which was still being drafted.
Questioned on whether Malta was expected to extrapolate its burden-sharing concept at a European level to its Arab neighbours, Dr Gonzi said: “We keep insisting that the illegal migration problem is not a country’s problem but a problem of the whole region.
“We need to discuss ways of putting an end to deaths in the desert and in our seas.”
He said that, so far, all countries had confirmed their attendance and would be represented either their President or Prime Minister.
These include: French President François Hollande, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, Libyan Congress President Mohamed el-Magarief, Portugal Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho, Moroccan Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane, and Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal.
Tunisia’s President Moncef Marzouki and Mauritania President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz will also attend.
The EU will be represented by EU Commission President José Manuel Barroso and Neighbourhood Policy Commissioner Štefan Füle.