MINISTER JOSEF BONNICI PARTICIPATES IN TRADE MINISTERS' MEETING IN SLOVENIA

‘The future lies in multilateral trade negotiations and not in bilateral free trade agreements'. 

This was one of the central statements made by EU Commissioner for Trade Pascal Lamy during a meeting for Trade Ministers from the thirteen countries (including Malta) that are candidates for EU membership. The meeting was held in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and the Maltese delegation was led by the Minister for Economic Services, Prof. Josef Bonnici. Discussions centred primarily around preparations for the next WTO (World Trade Organisation) plenary meeting to be held in Qatar, later this year. 

Commissioner Lamy was making this point to illustrate how WTO commitments were increasingly shaping EU policy on trade matters. The EU would continue to seek the development of closer economic ties, with non-member countries, on a regional basis (as is, for example, the proposed Euro-Mediterranean Free Trade Area) but would refrain from establishing any additional trade agreements with individual countries on a bilateral basis. 

This clear policy direction should bring to an end any additional conjecture on the so-called ‘Switzerland in the Mediterranean' option championed by the Leader of the Opposition. This would-be option alludes to a still to be defined, special, bilateral agreement with the EU,  that would rest somewhere in between membership of the EU and participation in the Euro-Med Free Trade Area. The possibility of such an ad-hoc bilateral agreement had already been discarded by the EU when the Labour Party was in Government. It is now even more clear that it is no option at all and a non-starter.

In his interventions during the meeting, Minister Bonnici highlighted the importance that international trade holds for a small open economy such as Malta. The Maltese Government is therefore keen to support measures intended to facilitate international trade and to assist its expansion. It is up to the WTO to ensure that the development of international trade does deliver the benefits that it potentially promises and to see that all countries, including the least developed, are given the opportunity to share in these benefits. It is of great satisfaction to Malta that the European Commission is actively supporting this position.

Minister Bonnici also spoke about the Euro-Med process that should lead to the establishment of a Free Trade area encompassing the EU and the Mediterranean countries. Malta has consistently reiterated its support for this ambitious objective. It has also, however, not hesitated to identify some of the present shortcomings. In particular, the Euro-Med process has centred almost exclusively on the conclusion of Association Agreements between the EU and the individual Mediterranean countries. This has provided a significant boost to trade between these countries and the EU, but it is not helping in the desired parallel expansion of trade between the Mediterranean countries themselves.  

As a candidate country, Malta is aware that EU membership will resolve this issue (for Malta) since membership will automatically make it a full party to the Association agreements concluded with the other Mediterranean countries. However, membership is not an option for most of the other Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries and the Euro-Med process needs to develop an additional dimension if its vision of a dynamic Euro-Med Free Trade Area is to be realized.

During the Ljubljana meeting, Minister Bonnici also held informal talks with Mr Nicos Rolandis, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism of Cyprus. The talks touched upon economic matters of interest to both countries and on the EU accession process.