Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said today that talks are continuing on whether Malta’s six-month presidency of the EU would be extended or whether the Estonian presidency would be moved forward once Britain did not take up the reins in view of the Brexit vote.
In a statement in the wake of last week’s EU summit meeting, which he attended, Dr Muscat reiterated that the EU needed to reflect on what led to the Brexit vote lest other countries also opted to take that road.
He noted that in Austria, petitioners had collected enough votes to force that country’s parliament to debate whether that country should hold a referendum on leaving the EU. This, he said, was worrying.
Dr Muscat regretted that those who wanted Brexit did not have the slightest idea how to go about it. The EU, he said, had rightly given the UK time to get its act together, but, he said, the UK should not abuse of this.
The EU, he noted, had also decided that any deal reached with the UK would have to be inferior to membership, and any access to the EU single market was conditional on respect for the other basic freedoms of the EU, including freedom of movement.
On the EU presidency, Dr Muscat said it would be preferable for Malta if the Estonian six-month presidency was moved forward to take over the UK slot. It would be a challenge and a strain on Malta were the Maltese presidency to be extended for a full year.
The indications were that Estonia was inclined to accept moving its six presidency forward.
If no agreement was reached, Malta would consider a compromise, such as extending its presidency by three months and Estonia bringing its own presidency forward by three months, but Malta would expect financial compensation.
Replying to various questions from both sides of the House, Dr Muscat said he agreed with Censu Galea (PN) about holding a parliamentary sitting in the autumn on how the EU should proceed in the future.
On Opposition leader Simon Busuttil’s concerns that English may be dropped as an EU language, Dr Muscat said the issue was raised in Council and it was agreed that English would remain a working language in the EU but the costs – currently borne mostly by the UK – would need to be shared by a number of countries unless a new deal was reached with the UK.
One of the biggest concerns if the UK was to leave was the funding shortfall, with the UK being the second biggest contributor to the EU budget, he said.
Dr Muscat said he agreed with Dr Busuttil that there should not be changes to the EU Treaties at this juncture. Rather, the changes should be to the way the EU operated, with the focus being on cutting red tape.
The prime minister told Joe Sammut (PL) that bilateral relations with the UK would be kept at the best possible level.
Replying to Tonio Fenech and Francis Zammit Dimech, Dr Muscat said immigration was clearly a concern in the UK. This was an issue which needed to be faced, without sacrificing freedom of movement, which was a crucial element in the way in the EU operated.
He said a cut in the UK corporation tax, announced today, showed the UK’s fear of the impact of Brexit.
Malta itself was already holding some talks on attracting some UK-based business to Malta and also tackling problems which could hinder such business relocation, including issues such as the availability in Malta of independent schooling.
Some countries had launched aggressive campaigns to draw businesses from the UK. Malta was adopting a balanced not ballistic approach and also considering ways how some businesses could create work in Malta while also retaining a presence in the UK.
As for Malta’s position on Scotland, Dr Muscat told Labour MP Joe Farrugia that before applying for EU membership, Scotland had to be an independent country. Once it applied, Malta felt it should be favourably considered if it satisfied the membership criteria. Clearly, Dr Muscat said, the arguments being raised by the Scots were attracting wide sympathy in Brussels.
Asked about concerns on the fall of the value of Sterling and possible government action, Dr Muscat said the situation was being monitored, but schemes such as the former Tour Operator Support Scheme, which had guaranteed the exchange rate for tourism, violated EU rules on state aid. Sterling, he observed had depreciated against all currencies and therefore Malta had not suffered a competitive disadvantage.
The prime minister also told Nationalist MP Robert Cutajar that it did not appear that Brexit would affect the HSBC call centre in Malta, Indeed, studies showed HSBC as being one of the least affected banks.