15TH MEETING OF THE EU-MALTA JOINT PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE

The EU-MALTA Joint Parliamentary Committee held its 15^th meeting on 28-29 May 2001 in St. Julians, Malta, under the joint chairmanship of Hon Louis GALEA (Malta - Nationalist Party), Mr Luigi COCILOVO (EP - EPP-ED) and Mr Mark WATTS ( EP – PES).

In his opening address to the Joint Parliamentary Committee, Hon Louis GALEA stated that Malta's EU accession negotiations have entered into a more crucial stage, where negotiations are becoming more profound and where the issues at stake are much higher. The ongoing debate on Malta's relations with the EU has continued to intensify reflecting Malta's particular and controversial internal differences on EU membership but also Malta's strong democratic tradition in which matters are discussed openly.

Hon Joe BORG, Foreign Minister of Malta, addressed the meeting stating that the accession negotiations had entered into their most complex and intensive stage. The programme of Malta's pre-accession activities has gone into full swing and the political co-operation with the European Union has both widened and intensified. By the end of the Swedish EU presidency next month, it is expected to have opened 28 negotiation chapters out of 29 substantive chapters. It was also stated that Malta, on accession, would be an effective and vital member of the Union in the area of maritime safety.

He spoke about the need to keep the Maltese people informed of the accession process and to get them directly involved in this process. The Government encourages an internal debate on the accession issue and its objective is to have a referendum on the results of the negotiations. With negotiations to be closed with the most advanced candidate countries next year, Malta should be among the first set of new EU members taking part in the next European elections in 2004.

Ambassador G'?ran BERG, representing the Swedish Presidency-in-Office of the Council of the European Union, stated that the enlargement of the EU has highest priority for the Presidency. With the outcome of Nice, the EU is ready to welcome new member states by the end of 2002. The "road map" for the period up to mid 2002 gives the Union a frame of reference that is both ambitious and realistic. Considering that negotiations with Malta only opened just over a year ago, Malta has achieved an excellent result and is a front runner in the negotiations and is demonstrating that catch up in the case of Malta had become a reality. In order to address the challenges posed by the EU membership, the Union continues to make financial contribution to Malta's pre-accession efforts.

Mr Ronald GALLIMORE, Head of Commission Delegation to Malta, spoke on behalf of the European Commission stating that the Nice European Council made the enlargement a top priority for the EU over the coming years.

Since the opening of the negotiations with Malta a year ago, Malta has made remarkable progress. Under the Swedish Presidency 37 chapters have been provisionally closed and 33 opened.

Malta is clearly taking advantage of the principle of differentiation which allows the candidates in the Helsinki group of countries to catch up. It has also made considerable progress in the alignment of its legislation with EU acquis.

The European Commission continues to support Malta's efforts in reinforcing its administrative and institutional capacities. 38 million Euros for the period 2000-2004 have been set aside to assist Malta in this adjustment process.

Malta's important role in the Euro-Mediterranean partnership and the strengthened co-operation at all levels are providing a sound basis for a future co-operation in this field.

Mr Richard CACHIA CARUANA, Chairman of the Negotiating Group, and EU Chief Negotiator, Mr Arhi PALOSUO, gave the JPC a briefing on the state of negotiations commenting on the free movement of persons and goods, Regional Policy and Financial and Budgetary Provisions as well as Justice and Home Affairs. In the specific context of the chapter on Regional Policy, it is now reasonable to anticipate that Malta will be eligible for Objective 1 status under the Structural Funds.

Mrs Ursula STENZEL, EP rapporteur on Malta, briefed the JPC on enlargement process in the EP which is assessing the progress made by the different candidate countries before it is supposed to give its final assent to the EU enlargement.

Hon Louis GALEA spoke on the prospective date of the next enlargement of the EU, on the participation of new member states in the debate and the decision making process on the future of the Union and on the implications of the Nice Summit on Malta's role within the EU institutions.

The JPC also debated the Euro-Med process, the social and employment policies in the EU and Malta and the transport and energy sectors in Malta.

Hon Michael Frendo, 1^st Vice Chairman, Hon George Vella, 2^nd Vice Chairman, Hon Anthony Abela, Hon Josef Bonnici, Hon Michael Bonnici, Hon Leo Brincat, Hon Chris Cardona, Hon Dolores Cristina, Hon John Dalli and Hon Charles Mangion from the Malta side and the Members of the European Parliament, actively participated in all the items of the agenda.

The JPC welcomed the extent of Malta's preparation for EU membership, which had given Malta a position as a front runner amongst the candidate countries. It also welcomed the decision of the Maltese government to hold a referendum on the results of the negotiations, thus ensuring full democratic support for accession.

The JPC agreed that in the process of its regular activity of assessing and facilitating enlargement negotiations between Malta and the EU, it would meet with representatives of the civil societies from Malta and the EU at its future meetings.

The 16^th meeting of the EU-Malta JPC is scheduled to be held in Brussels in the autumn 2001.