Once elected, a Labour government will go to Brussels and with goodwill negotiate new conditions on the dockyards and agriculture to uphold Malta's national interest, Labour leader Alfred Sant said yesterday.
Insisting that the "EU should not be used as a political football", Dr Sant stressed that the Labour Party was against closing down the dockyards next year. Besides, the government could not afford to absorb the redundant workers.
"We want Europe to be close to the citizen, while ensuring Malta's interests are safeguarded," he said.
He referred to a situation where Austria had reached an agreement with the EU over the number of foreign medical students at its university and insisted the party was not seeking to renegotiate the EU accession treaty.
At the start of the campaign, the party is presenting a fresh, modern image, completely redecorating the press conference area, set against a white, minimalist background, with the words Choose Labour running along an indigo border.
Speaking from a stainless steel podium, Dr Sant welcomed the official announcement of the date of the general election, because it eliminated the uncertainty of the past months.
He announced that the party will convene an extraordinary general conference on Thursday and Friday to present its electoral manifesto, based on its document for a new beginning, and its candidates for both the general and local council elections.
The race is now officially on and a mass rally is being held for Labour supporters tonight at the party headquarters in ?amrun at 6.30 p.m.
Discussing the way forward, Dr Sant said his party would ensure that its programme will place the well-being of families at the forefront, ensuring that their quality of life is not hampered by unnecessary taxes.
Contrary to the Nationalist Party, Labour would work as a team and remain close to the people, even after the election, as opposed to Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi who did not parade his ministers on the billboards because he was embarrassed by them, and instead operated on his own.
When asked to comment about his performance during his 22 months in government between 1996 and 1998, Dr Sant said he will let the historians decide.
"Our term was cut short. It's as if you're in the middle of an operation and it was halted halfway through," he said, making reference to the major surgery he underwent recently.
During the limited question time, Dr Sant defended his party's proposal to introduce a reception class between kindergarten and primary school, to give children back their childhood.
"The government is lying when it says this will be a repeaters' class. What we are proposing has proved to be successful in the UK and Scandinavian countries.
"We will be injecting more money into the educational sector in things that really matter - (Education Minister) Louis Galea and (Prime Minister) Lawrence Gonzi think that you improve education simply by building new schools."
Bringing the press conference to an end, Dr Sant called on all the political parties to engage in a tranquil electoral campaign where citizens had the chance to analyse the clear exchange of ideas.
"The big choice people have to make is whether they want a change or not," he said.