MALTA CHAIRMAN, CORE NEGOTIATING GROUP, DELIVERS SPEECH AT THE SOCIETÀ ITALIANA PER L’ORGANIZZAZIONE INTERNAZIONALE, IN ROME

"For reasons that are well-known, Malta started the formal process of negotiating these twenty-nine chapters together with the second group of countries in February 2000. Since then we have concluded negotiations on seventeen of these chapters, including some where we have requested special arrangements in order to cater for Malta’s specific needs and characteristics.

The granting of these requests is particularly relevant. Two of the arrangements we sought and obtained on the chapters dealing with the Free Movement of Goods and Energy - namely four year transition periods for our full harmonisation with requirements related to the registration of pharmaceutical products, and for establishing the structures necessary to implement the 90-day oil reserve requirement - though necessary and useful in their own terms, were too technical and specific in nature to generate much excitement.

However, the safeguard arrangement secured by Malta on the Free Movement of Workers was, in our view, the first genuinely political breakthrough in the negotiations, given the importance that most Maltese attached to the problem.

The Maltese Government is convinced that the economic growth that will follow EU membership will be enough to sustain any possible additional influx of labour into Malta, which in any case is not expected to be significant. Nevertheless, there is a clear perception within Maltese society that EU membership could create an imbalance in the labour market, at least in the initial stages. As you know this is not a phenomenon unique to Malta. As was the case within the Union itself, it was politically imperative for the Government to seek ways of meeting this concern.

Our future partners understood our needs and reasoning and, together, we came up with a safeguard formula that addresses these fears in a fair and equitable manner. Malta will therefore apply the acquis on the free movement of workers as from day one of membership, but, for an initial period of seven years it will have the possibility of taking remedial action in the case of any unmanageable influx. Subsequent to this seven-year period, we will also have the option of consulting with our partners in case any difficulties should arise".

"There are several other crucial decisions ahead of us, but before looking ahead, it may be useful to take a brief look at Malta’s current situation and the immediate goals we have set ourselves:

• Of the four basic freedoms of the EU, we have provisionally closed negotiations on all but the Free Movement of Capital. Here, the only outstanding item is our request to retain controls on the purchase of secondary homes in Malta. It appears that both sides are now focusing on what is necessary to reach an arrangement on this issue.

• We are pursuing negotiations on three other areas fundamental to the single market: competition, customs and taxation. The discussions on competition will be lengthy, due to our requests for special arrangements concerning the shipyards, and are unlikely to be completed before early next year. The negotiations on customs could be concluded before the end of the year, while those on taxation will concentrate on our requests for special arrangements concerning value added tax.

• The chapters concerning agriculture and fisheries are important negotiating chapters, in spite of the fact that in statistical terms they represent a very small part of our economy. These sectors are important to Malta because of their social, environmental and cultural relevance, as well as our desire to foster viable farming and fishing in the Maltese islands. Our negotiations on the fisheries chapter are in hand and we hope to make substantial progress in the next few weeks. The principal issue for Malta is our request to manage the 25 miles around Malta as a conservation zone. Substantive negotiations on the agriculture chapter are not expected to take place before next year.

• We expect to conclude negotiations on the transport chapter later this week, while discussions on social policy, and in particular our request concerning the application of the working time directive, are nearing conclusion.

• The environment negotiations should see major developments now that our new Environment Protection Act is in place. Although a number of requests for special arrangements have been made in this chapter, the majority of these relate to infrastructural measures that require time and considerable funding to implement. The technical issues which still need to be dealt with are quite complex and it may not be realistic to aim at provisional closure before the end of the current year.

• Discussions are all but concluded in the newest area of EU policy, that of Justice and Home Affairs.

Our expectation at this stage is that we will be left with the five most complex chapters to tackle on a substantive basis in 2002. These are Agriculture, Competition, Environment, Regional Policy and Financial and Budgetary Provisions. This last phase of negotiations is expected to be concluded under the Spanish and Danish Presidencies, ensuring that we will be ready for membership, as targeted, on 1 January 2003".

"Malta receives support and advice from a number of current EU member states. It is however certain that the special relationship with Italy plays a particularly important role, as Malta prepares for accession.

Bilateral agreements between our two countries deal with a variety of issues, from cultural co-operation to training of military personnel, and from scientific research to transport matters. Meetings at the highest levels are held on a regular basis, fostering the excellent relations that have always transcended any divergence in the political allegiance of successive governments in both countries.

This relationship has developed into a key aspect of Malta’s progress towards membership of the European Union. Not only is Italy a staunch and dependable supporter of our candidature, but it is also directly assisting us in certain preparations for membership.

Assistance is being providing to our Department of Agriculture, in the setting up of an Integrated Administrative and Control System, which is a database required for effective harmonisation with and implementation of the agriculture acquis. The Italian immigration authorities also provided advice during the preparation of the Schengen Action Plan for Malta.

This is an appropriate message during these troubling times that follow the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, which have had such an impact on all aspects of international activity. The EU is no exception. There are clear signs of enhanced co-operation and solidarity among present and future partners. Malta has aligned itself with all the EU’s declarations condemning the attacks on the United States and has committed its solidarity in the fight against terrorism".