Maritime affairs and fisheries are two important sectors for Malta, which found itself sandwiched between EU regulations on one side and its north African neighbours, who were not bound by the same regulations, on the other, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said this afternoon.
Speaking during a meeting with Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki, which journalists attended for the first five minutes, Dr Gonzi said the situation was like a football game where one one team had its hands tied while the other was free to roam.
Commissioner Damanaki said that she understood Malta’s position but the difference was that the players who were free to roam would have to abide by EU rules to be able to tap into the EU markets.
A few days ago, the European Commission presented new plans for a revision of maximum sustainable yields.
During her meeting with Dr Gonzi today, she announced that the Mediterranean non-EU countries, apart from Libya, had agreed to a commission proposal for joint deployment exercises, which was a positive first step, she said.
Earlier, Fisheries Minister George Pullicino said that Maltese fishermen would be disadvantaged if EU fishing quotas and controls were not adopted by North African states as well.
He said during a joint press conference with the Commissioner that while Malta agreed with the concept of such yields and the need to conserve stock, one could hardly expect success when southern Mediterranean fishermen continued to fish without restraint.
Ms Damanaki arrived in Malta this morning for talks with government officials on the EU's fisheries policy and other maritime issues.
Speaking at Villa Francia, Ms Damanaki said the commission's proposals were meant to bring about radical reform in order to make the fishing industry viable. She said she understood Malta's concerns, and practical solutions had to be found. A possibility, she said, was to look at the Mediterranean as a 'sea basin approach' (meaning that the EU would also seek to rope in other countries for its initiative.
Questioned on the tuna season, which closes today, Ms Damanaki said enforcement was improved this year and the EU now had to control what enters the fish farms.
Mr Pullicino said Malta was in favour of audit and control mechanism, but 'we do not want to be a lab for enforcement'.
Malta, because of its small size, was easy to control, he said, but he expected the EU to apply enforcement in a uniform manner among all countries.
Ms Damanaki today also had talks with Maritime Affairs Minister Austin Gatt and Environment Minister Mario de Marco and visited the San Lucjan aquaculture centre. She said that the EU Budget would be allocating more funds for this sort of activity.
Dr Gatt during his meeting with Ms Damanaki this morning.