The Maltese government is conducting studies on how Malta could be affected if Britain were to leave the EU, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said in parliament this evening.
Replying to Opposition questions after a statement on last weekend's EU summit and the deal reached with the UK ahead of the in-out referendum, Dr Muscat said there could be both positive and negative impacts, but ultimately it would be better for Malta if the UK stayed in the EU, not least as the UK was an important trading partner
The sector most affected by Brexit would be financial services. On the one hand there could be a situation of Malta attracting business from London because Malta could offer passporting within the EU for financial services.
The disadvantage was that the City of London could introduce new conditions which would make it more attractive as a financial jurisdiction.
Politically, Dr Muscat said, it would be better if the UK stayed in the EU because the UK was a counter-balance for of the move towards greater federalism in the EU in areas such as tax harmonisation.
In the talks and the eventual deal with the EU, Malta and Luxembourg made it clear that interpretation of the rules was such that there would not be a different sets of rules for those in the EU and in the eurozone and those who were in the EU but not the Eurozone.
Dr Muscat said the issues raised by the UK about social benefits for workers who migrated from other EU countries did not affect Malta since its situation was different. However, should there be a situation where the presence of EU migrant workers put pressure on the Malta government financial sector, Malta would apply the same mechanism allowed for the UK.
As for Maltese living in the UK, Dr Muscat said that if the UK left the EU, existing bilateral social security and health agreements would apply.
Dr Muscat also replied to a number of questions on migration, confirming that Malta had received the names of migrants which would be brought to Malta under the burden sharing arrangement. Final arrangements were still being made, such as how these migrants would be received with dignity.
He said the ongoing discussion in the EU was, among other things, was on ways to ensure that such migrants, after they were resettled in various countries, did not pack their bags and move on to other countries.