Malta’s €1.12 billion in EU funds are not in jeopardy despite the European Parliament’s gripes about the negotiated seven-year budget agreement, according to Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.
He made the reassuring statement yesterday in Brussels, where he is attending his first EU summit just two days after being sworn in as Prime Minister following his overwhelming electoral victory last week. The traditional spring summit focused on economic growth and job creation.
Dr Muscat was given a warm welcome at the EU Council but received the most enthusiastic greeting from Martin Schulz, the president of the European Parliament and former leader of the Socialist group.
After a lunchtime meeting at the European Parliament building, Mr Schulz said it was an “exceptional pleasure” to welcome his “real friend” Dr Muscat, a former MEP, in his new role as Prime Minister.
Addressing a joint press conference, Dr Muscat reacted to the EP resolution which was interpreted as a rejection of the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework. The resolution criticised aspects of the negotiated deal but was not an outright rejection of the seven-year budget which still has to be voted upon by the EP after further negotiations.
“Let me give my reassurance that we do not envisage a situation where the Maltese allocation can be jeopardised. We will be very careful about this. But our aim in the next few weeks would not simply be to adopt a passive approach but a more balanced approach where differences can be bridged,” Dr Muscat said.
Meanwhile, Mr Schulz said the European Parliament was not seeking cuts to the deal but was concerned that the figures were not adding up. He stressed that the Parliament did not want to see the EU “repeat the mistakes” of countries that failed to balance their budgets.
Dr Muscat pointed out that as a former MEP – like several other current EU heads of state – he could push for a balanced outcome, helping other member states to understand the position of Parliament, which is open to negotiation.
Dr Muscat was also asked whether he would use the summit to ally himself with French President Francois Hollande, who is pushing for growth, or German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is seen as a defender of austerity.
“We will side with common sense,” he said, stressing that Malta was committed to good fiscal governance but would also push for a balanced approach to economic growth and job creation, without advocating any spending sprees.
He said he was very committed to continuity from the previous government when it came to “most issues” but with a more progressive outlook towards a social Europe focused on growth and good governance.
Earlier, Dr Muscat said he was nostalgic to have returned to the European Parliament building after a long absence and was proud to have come back as the Prime Minister of a “staunchly pro-European government” which had three former MEPs in its top ranks, including Deputy Prime Minister and EU Minister Louis Grech and Finance Minister Edward Scicluna. The latter accompanied Dr Muscat to Brussels to attend a summit for the eurozone organised last night.
After his meeting with Mr Schulz, Dr Muscat attended a meeting of the Party of European Socialists, visited Malta’s embassy in Brussels, Dar Malta, and held a bilateral meeting with Council President Hermann Van Rompuy where the two discussed immigration, energy and taxation.
At Dar Malta, Dr Muscat confirmed that Malta’s Ambassador to the EU Marlene Bonnici will be retained in her role as permanent representative.
He also asked workers for “total unconditional loyalty, not towards me, but towards the Government of Malta, which is representing the people of Malta”.
He said solutions could be found for those who felt uncomfortable with the new Government but his starting point was that he was ready to work with everyone. “I do trust you,” he told employees.