Update 4: EU leaders meeting in Malta call for single European banking supervision system
The challenges facing the European Union were this evening discussed in a 10-minute meeting between Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and French President Francois Hollande.
Addressing the press just after the meeting, Dr Gonzi and Mr Hollande said they spoke about the importance that that decisions taken within the EU were implemented. They spoke about the importance of stabilisation and growth within the union and pointed out that the difficulty to get back on track would remain as long as there was a debate on whether Spain required a bailout or not.
They also discussed upcoming meetings at the EU, including on the EU budget and the progress being made during the 5 + 5 summit with Dr Gonzi expressing satisfaction at what has been achieved so far.
Discussions, he said, also had to foster relations between the northern and southern shores of the Mediterranean.
Mr Hollande spoke about the importance of security in the Mediterranean and said that the threats faced by one country, affected all countries in the Mediterranean.
The two leaders also discussed discussed bilateral relations.
EU LEADERS DISCUSS CRISIS
After the meeting between Dr Gonzi and Mr Hollande, another meeting was held between Dr Gonzi, Mr Hollande, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy Brey, the Prime Minister of Portugal Pedro Passos Coelho and EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.
The leaders called for the next meeting of the region's leaders in October to make progress toward setting up a single banking regulator by the end of the year so that it can be running in 2013.
They agreed that the next European Council must pave the way towards the establishment of a single European banking supervision system, to be decided before the end of the year and operational by January.
GONZI MEETS MONTI
Dr Gonzi then had a meeting with Mr Monti with whom he discussed topics of mutual interest including the interconnector project between Malta and Italy.
They also spoke on the operational agreement between the Italian Coastguard Italian and the Armed Forces of Malta signed in July which, Mr Monti said, helped in the better coordination of S&R efforts in the Mediterranean.
"Saving life is a moral obligation," Mr Monti said.
Dr Gonzi later also had a bilateral meeting with Mr Rajoy Brey.
MUSCAT MEETS MONTI, HOLLANDE
Labour leader Joseph Muscat this evening had a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti, at the Xagħra Lodge in Rabat.
Dr Muscat and Mr Monti discussed the European financial crisis, the energy policy and the interconnector between Malta and Italy, as well as bilateral relations.
With Mr Hollande, Dr Muscat discussed Mediterranean issues and the European crisis.
Dr Muscat was accompanied by the PL’s foreign affairs spokesman George Vella,MEP Louis Grech and PL international secretary Alex Sceberras Trigona.
PROTEST
Spanish, Italians and Greeks in Malta later protested in front of the law courts against the austerity measures in their country.
The protest coincided with the leaders' official dinner at the Palace. Dinner is being followed with a concert by Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja.
President George Abela's address may be read in the pdf link below.
Attached files
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David Willow
Oct 6th 2012, 15:43
It is indeed strange that some people think that being in the EU has been a bad thing when this country has produced figures that prove the opposite....it may not be all things to all men but hey you are better off with the funding than without it for sure. but in terms of this article i am sure they could spend their time far more beneficially than wining and dining and having a laugh at our expense.
R. Caruana
Oct 6th 2012, 21:24
"Spanish, Italians and Greeks in Malta later protested in front of the law courts against the austerity measures in their country." Learn to read.
David Willow
Oct 7th 2012, 12:02
Listen R Caruana.....they have every right to protest just as they have the right and common sense not to take money by way of loans that they cannot afford to pay back which is what got most countries in the state they are now - coupled with dodgy shyster bankers. its very simple my friend - dont borrow and spend what you cannot afford to pay back.. If you want something and dont have the money to have it then do without. austerity is essential to get back to normal - cut you cloth to suit your income if you are lucky enough to have one.
m. borg (slm)
Oct 6th 2012, 13:35
One would have thought that the 5+5 was a meeting to deal with democracy in new North African states, the war against fundamentalism and illegal immigration.
So it turns out to be simply a three day holiday to discuss EU matters and a photo shot for our beloved PM.
Oh how very refreshing these guys real work the guts out.
Ms. P.M Graham
Oct 6th 2012, 09:58
"Dr Gonzi and Mr Hollande said they spoke about the importance that that decisions taken within the EU were implemented."
HA!! Mr Hollande you need to explain to Dr Gonzi that there is no *I* in Team and that decisions made by the EU are there to be followed by ALL and not just when it suits them!!
Imer Cardona
Oct 6th 2012, 09:44
"...discussed in a 10 minute meeting..."
What do you discuss in 10 minutes ???!!
Tony Camilleri
Oct 6th 2012, 09:04
Now you all know what EU membership means.
Dictatorial powers to the unelected in Brussels who crave for more power.
Dictators who order us to pay more and more taxes and bail out irresponsible banks and countries.
Dictators who want us to share in other countries and banks debt.
People need to prepare for a referendum to leave the EU and get rid of all the foreign interference in ur internal affairs.
Some politicians are better than others, but all Maltese politicians are EU lackeys.
We need a new party to get us out of the EU colonial dictatorship.
David Willow
Oct 6th 2012, 17:33
why dont you start a party then - you seem to be vocal enough....let see how many votes you get!!!!!
Alex Ellul
Oct 6th 2012, 08:29
I suspect that the meeting was held in Malta because Malta is the only country in the EZ where people would not go out in the streets protesting in desperation, demanding their daily bread.
B. Cachia
Oct 6th 2012, 10:34
Alex, you probably don't travel much. I spend a good part of my time on the continent and I haven't yet come across anyone protesting in desperation. Some of that does happen, but mostly in places like Greece, Spain and Portugal. What I do come across are Western Europeans whose GDP per capita is on average more than twice ours. Even the 'hungry' Greeks have a GDP per capita that's about 25% higher than ours.
Raymond Sacco
Oct 6th 2012, 07:56
"E.U. leaders discuss crisis, EU leaders call for single European banking supervision system"
Talk, talk and more talk! And while they talk, dine, drink and talk again, the people of Europe struggle to make ends meet! They have been trying to agree on a banking supervision system since the banking crisis broke out and still they talk! Europe does not belong to Barroso, Merkel, Hollande or Cameron. It belongs to the mega enterprises and banks! Companies and banks dictate; politicians conform! That is what the E.U. has come to be!
David Willow
Oct 6th 2012, 07:22
Meanwhile Non Maltese EU nationals are discriminated against daily on utility tarrifs, car registration taxes, bus fares double pricing etc etc etc...and ripped off every day. Its about time Malta started to accept their EU responsibility - i guess a 10 minute meeting just isnt enough time for Malta / EU to discuss these non important issues. Stop playing at being in the EU.
Raymond Sacco
Oct 6th 2012, 08:00
So right Mr. Willow, and non Maltese, non E.U. nationals who entered E.U. illegally have more rights then you! How's that for discrimination?
carlos ellul
Oct 6th 2012, 08:06
Meanwhile malta has to take up a lionshare of illegal immigrants. They cant be sent back and if they are caught in europe they are sent back. Its about time britian started to accept its colonist past (which ruined half the world) and does not allow others to carry the results of its own sins.
Btw please check how many non maltese eu members are coming to malta to enjoy our free tertiary education paid by the local taxpayer.
phyllis butler
Oct 6th 2012, 08:27
There are many options to follow if one feels that he/she is being ripped off every day - After having lived abroad I decided that Malta, with its shortcomings, is a little paradise. England, France, Eire etc are even more expensive when buying a bottle of Mineral Water :) If I recall well, UK's transportation is not that cheap either.
Tony Camilleri
Oct 6th 2012, 09:05
David Willow no one sent for you in our hugely overcrowded country.
If you don't like it you can go back where you came from.
David Willow
Oct 6th 2012, 15:27
Typical Tony Camlieri... a disgrace to most of the malti people and you say this to people whose cash and income Malta cannot do without - as if they did they would be bankrupt in no time at all.... just remember many of these people you tell to go back to where they came from are the very same people whose taxes paid for Malta's gross recipient funding. every year...so backward its unreal, but to be fair it befits the country's present state and some and I only say some of its countrymen.....get real Malta accept your fate and accept the fact that you are EU now and need to learn to integrate fully and to the same level as all of the EU nationals do - you know the ones you purport to love and yet we are made to feel alien/foreign and yet like the so called beloved tourist you really only want our money...speaks a lot for the misnomer of friendly people.....
David Willow
Oct 6th 2012, 15:40
@ Phyllis Butler - - I dont get ripped off any more as I will not shop and spend my cash anymore at rip-off merchants - we soon learn who they are and stic our fingers up at them - once bitten twice shy simple as that - I have no sympathy at all for these merchants and if it means i go the extra mile to avoid these shysters then so be it - if it means internet shopping while maltas traders go bust then so be it. Yes you are right Phyllis there are many options and i have taken my options and will leave when it suits me and my family and not when it suits people like Tony C. Malta is many things but its far from paradise for sure there are more beautiful islands for sure - why am I not there then you may ask ...I ask myself that everyday - so there must be something i like or love about this place - but am struggling to identify it. We dont stay cause of it being cheap cos it isnt, well it is in some respects bit overall its getting worse for sure.
@c ellul - yes and just remember there education starts with funds from the EU and at the same time as their parents start to pay taxes as well as being overcharged on their utilities, car reg taxes, illegal account deposits, and dare we even mention the amount of maltese who dont declare their taxes from rents paid for by all the non-maltese and EU nationals = so lets not go down the line of you doing these people a favour by paying for their childs education. get real.
Anthony A. Mifsud
Oct 6th 2012, 06:48
Ok having said all that, should the EU adupt a monitarum watch dog, then I would say we can hold the / any minister that goes over bord with the country budget responsible for their wrong doings?
If not this 5x5 is another super lunch meeting and time killing..
Ninu
Paul Gauci
Oct 6th 2012, 04:27
Would be interesting to know if Gonzi criticised Hollande for his 'extreme socialism' which according to Gonzi was also the reason why Spain ended up in trouble at the end of the Zapatero administration.
Oh well probably Gonzi criticises foreign leaders only after they're out of power. He said those things of Zapatero only after he was replaced by Rajoy and stopped hugging Ghaddafi days AFTER he was already killing civilians in Benghazi. What an obnoxious Prime Minister we have!!
A Spiteri
Oct 5th 2012, 23:50
as Gonzi exploits this 5 a side match for the next election...this is what they are planning, more centralisation of power!
Stephen Grech
Oct 5th 2012, 23:39
The progressive movement .....and its past
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvpW13rCX9s&feature=relmfu
Joseph Brincat
Oct 6th 2012, 08:51
Stephen Grech
@ The progressive movement .....and its past
Yesterday, 23:39
Well I pity you for you are living in the past !!!
But we all know that Eddie Fenech Adami is a liar
( as much as Gonzi pn ) for it was proved by the
Court of Malta that he is a liar, when Eddie Fenech Adami
blamed Alfred Sant for keeping his sons out of university.!!
Sorry but if I were you I wouldn't trust them with
their propaganda, so wake up and join : -
The new progressive movement YOU WON'T REGRET IT
GOOD DAY Stephen Grech
Stephen Grech
Oct 6th 2012, 15:47
@Joseph Brincat
Actually I am dreading it, as the progressive movement is not progressive at all...considering that most of the faces in that clip are still in parliament for the 'new' PL.
btw....good day to you too
Raymond Sacco
Oct 5th 2012, 23:02
"E.U. leaders discuss crisis","EU leaders call for single European banking supervision system".
Talk, talk and more talk! And while they talk, dine, drink and talk again, the people of Europe struggle to make ends meet! They've been discussing this banking supervision system since the banking crisis broke out and still they haven't agreed yet! Europe does not belong to Merkel, Hollande, Cameron or Barroso. It belongs to Barclays, Shell, HSBC, BP, Siemens, Deutsche Bank and the rest. Banks and companies dictate, politicians conform! That is what the E.U. has become!
John Grech
Oct 5th 2012, 22:58
Poplu Malti, vera bil-paprati li qed naraw fil-parlament qisna fuq rollercoaster .... imma issa la jitla l-lejber meta nara dawn il-protesti nahseb ahjar jekk naqflu jew nissikkaw ic-cinturin ftit izjed milli qed nissikawh issa!! Nahseb li ta' Malta ghada gejja... decizjoni wahda hazina ta' Joey taghna u naraw l-eluf ta' nies fit-toroq jipprotestaw.. Jiena ghandi l-impressjoni li bil-lejber fil-Gvern kull ma se jibidlu l-ucuh u xejn ta' sustanza ta' barra min hawn. Josy ghadda iz-zmien tas-salvaturi jew tal-vizjunarji.Kull ma se jkun Joey taghna caretaker government ikompli fuq dk li hawn u jbiddel xi ftit l-hawn u l-hemm. Rivoluzzjonijiet mhux se jkollna. Ghalhekk Joey taghna mhux qed jghid meta se jrahhas il-kontijiet tad-dawl u l-ilma u b' kemm ghax jaf li wara l-elezzjoni jiena se nkun minn ta'l-ewwel li mhux se nhallas il-kont minn dakinhar li Joey jitla t-tarag ta-Kastillja jxejjer lil eluf ta' maltin li wara 25 sena fl-oppozzijoni se jiccelebraw l-ikbar rebha li qatt sehhet fl-istorja tal-politka malitja post indipendenza!! Weghdiet kemm trid imma fatti ladarba l-ekonomiji jkunu ahjar jew inkella wara l-elezzjoni ta' 2018!! VIVA L-KARNIVAL!!!
Stephen Grech
Oct 5th 2012, 22:37
Seeing Trigona in front of Monti brings shivers down my spine.....being haunted by those images of the 80s again.
Ethelbert Schembri
Oct 5th 2012, 22:27
These meeting prove how right Mintoff was back in 1975 and the position he imposed on all the world leaders in Helsinki.
A Cardona
Oct 5th 2012, 22:18
Its funny how money is found for any event especially by the most troubled members (except Greece) of the block.
I would have been impressed if Rajoy, Monti, Hollande and Passos discussed and proved how they are showing solidarity with their people who are going through all that hardship. How the austerity measures are affecting their everyday lives as it is affecting the rest of their nations. That would have been interesting. Till now we did not see any politician commit any act of folly. Sure their job is safe for quite some years, does not need to update (just convince the desperate heaven on earth) and in those few years they manage to accumulate enough money and assets that takes a normal citizen a lifetime.
Let's be honest, Ugo Fantozzi would have been able to do the same if he was elected in power.
Taxing is easy, creating growth and prosperity is the hard job.
D. Xerri
Oct 5th 2012, 21:32
Gonzi in talks with Hollande, Monti
...... I bet he did not tell them though what a Mess he has in Parliament :~)
Malcolm Seychell
Oct 5th 2012, 22:33
Well the EU is in a total mess... Agreed Gonzi has a mess in parliament. Monti was not even elected by the people......
A Trapani
Oct 6th 2012, 01:45
He didn't have to, as contrary to him, they have a mess in their country which is far worse
Joe M Borg
Oct 6th 2012, 08:18
Yes, he has a mess in parliament,...and YET, he is STILL there. In spite of the credit crunch, all the turmoil in Europe, internal PN trouble, HE IS STILL THERE. The last MLP/PL government toppled on the FIRST stumbling block, remember? (Now when was that,...hmmm, probably begore you were born!) Who is the stronger, then, PN or MLP/PL?
mark borg
Oct 6th 2012, 08:59
as if they they care !
Claudio Cilia
Oct 5th 2012, 20:17
..Meanwhile ..foreign students are protesting in Valletta agains Italy, Spain and others cause of their austerity measures..
George Cutajar
Oct 5th 2012, 20:09
JM meets Monti - and told him what? Road map,?
Noel Abela
Oct 5th 2012, 22:43
No he told him that Gonzi does not enjoy a parliamentary majority.
Joe M Borg
Oct 6th 2012, 08:10
No, probably about the expected earthquake he promised! Or the next 'ice age': freezing the wages to start with!
George Cremona
Oct 6th 2012, 08:31
Don't you know that JM is an expert adviser in economics,that his track record in this field is phenominal?
robert pace
Oct 6th 2012, 08:45
How Gonzi turned Malta into a big fiasco George......
mark borg
Oct 6th 2012, 10:52
no they spoke about the clique that heads gonzi and the country.....exposed by members of parlament from the governments side !
Julian Borg
Oct 5th 2012, 19:28
Im sure Muscat impressed Monti with his Linji Gwida.....we understand Monti will be putting together a new economic revival package following advice from the man that advised us to first follow Iceland later Cyprus!.
mark borg
Oct 5th 2012, 19:40
no...rather he will follow advise of Gonzi to join an eu with debt ridden countries such as Greece,Italy ,portugal ,Ireland ,Spain ....the rest of ex easter block and the same CYPRUS you are accusing Muscat with !
David Farrugia
Oct 5th 2012, 20:27
The problems with Cyprus is not their economic model, but their exposure to Greek banks.
J Martinelli
Oct 5th 2012, 21:32
Mark, He isn't even born yet, 'easter' is a long way off yet.
No, Monti should have discussed Iceland with Dr Gonzi perhaps, or did he save that for his encounter with Joseph?
Since Joseph had AST and George Vella with him when he met Monti, all three would have been much more familiar with the Eastern Block, a familiar territory of yore for Socialist delegations.
Malcolm Seychell
Oct 5th 2012, 22:34
We surely are not impressed by what Monti did in Italy..... a Super financial disaster...
Joseph Brincat
Oct 5th 2012, 19:22
Muscat meets Monti
IT MAKE SENSE FOR JOSEPH MUSCAT
IS GOING TO BE OUR PRIME MINISTER !!!
J Busuttil
Oct 5th 2012, 19:37
@ Joseph Brincat
Any inside news if Mario Monti was impressed.
Joseph Xuereb
Oct 5th 2012, 20:30
Do not forget what happened way back in 2008 when MLP were sure of a 15,000 majority. All of a sudden this evaporated even though some MLP supporters took to the streets on the Sunday after we voted to ''celebrate''!!! Things may change especially if MLP proposals remain unsubstantiated and we have more of Debono Grech behaviour cases( to show us what we expect) and as the Maltese proverb goes that IL-HMAR TAQTALU DENBU HMAR JIBQA.Yesterday during BONDI+ Anglu Farrugia ''praised'' Jason Micallef and ''congratulated'' Jason for his speech, which Lou Bondi had just showed him. Farrugia said that since that speech by Jason, 9 months had passed as he did not realise that Jason made this speech in January but in the year 2010 and not 2012. Ara kemm ftakar meta kien ghamilha dinl-ispeech!!!
J. Borg
Oct 5th 2012, 21:18
You 'may' be correct. However I was always taught ..... "NOT to count your chickens before they're hatched".
Vince Piscopo
Oct 6th 2012, 07:48
Mr Borg I agree with you but your comment applies in the same equal way to those who told us PN will rule for another 20 years! Anyway, God help us if it is so :-)
Joe M Borg
Oct 6th 2012, 08:13
Don't forget, Mr Brincat, that JM promised an earthquake a few years ago, which STILL has not materialised. We wonder what it's going to be, or when! Has the ice age anything to do with it?
C. Bartoli
Oct 8th 2012, 10:51
@Joseph Brincat, insiders said that Joseph Muscat told Monti, that to keep my promise of reducing the utility bills, if I'm in power, Malta will be worse than Italy in 2 years time and we will beat Italy in asking for a bailout.
Please choose the reason of your report below: