STATEMENT BY THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FISHERIES

STATEMENT BY THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FISHERIES

The Opposition spokesman for Agriculture and Fisheries, the Hon. Noel Farrugia, in another statement issued yesterday, has repeated his unfounded assertion that our fishermen will be encountering problems upon accession to the EU. He claims that this will be as a result of revised fishing zones, and the arrival of over 100,000 fishing boats working in Maltese waters.

This statement is first of all incorrect as it is based on his assumptions and uninformed projections. It shows very clearly that he is totally unaware of the process being followed by applicant countries in their bid for membership. Negotiations have not yet even started over specific issues of the type that Mr Farrugia is crying wolf about. Therefore one wonders why he is insisting on repeating statements that base their strength on purely hypothetical situations.

The statement is also alarmist in that the use of the figure of "over 100,000 boats fishing in Maltese waters" is absurd. Does Mr Farrugia want Maltese fishermen to believe that ALL boats currently registered in EU countries are coming to fish within sight of our shores? There are mechanisms in force and others are planned to ensure that the livelihood of Maltese fishermen is not at all threatened.

The statement is repetitive as it is almost a word for word copy of a similar statement issued by the Hon. Farrugia in the last week of October last year. While repetition can be useful as a propaganda machine, the public should be aware that no amount of echoing can change the facts. The statements churned out contain minor snippets of information relating to a particular situation in a particular country of the EU or an applicant country, which are being extrapolated into an inexistent situation.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries is committed to protecting the best interests of the Maltese and Gozitan farming, fishing and rural communities while at the same time safeguarding the interests of our consumers. It is highly irresponsible of anybody to just spout out whatever comes to mind for purely political reasons attempting to gain as much exposure on our media by being negative about all aspects of EU membership. Were one to believe Mr Farrugia's looped chain of statements, one would easily be misguided into believing that EU membership means the end of the world. Facts show otherwise!

10.01.2000