The government and the Nationalist Party have welcomed the allocation of a sixth European Parliament seat to Malta that will soon be filled by Labour MEP Joseph Cuschieri.
No thanks to Labour’s vociferous campaign against membership
The government urged Mr Cuschieri to work in the interests of Malta. It said it had worked hard to obtain this seat as it always believed that Malta should have the same number of seats as Luxemburg.
In a separate statement, the PN said it agreed with the Labour Party that the additional seat was good news for Malta, giving it a stronger voice in the Parliament.
However, this was only thanks to the PN’s vision and determination and certainly no thanks to Labour’s vociferous campaign against membership, it said.
Parliament voted this week to elect Mr Cuschieri to the sixth seat which became available following the ratification of a protocol annexed to the Lisbon Treaty.
Mr Cuschieri won the right to become Malta’s sixth MEP when he finished in the runner’s up position after the five elected MEPs – three for Labour and two for the Nationalist Party – in the June 2009 elections.