MALTA CLOSES NEGOTIATIONS ON SOCIAL POLICY AND EMPLOYMENT

Malta moved one step further in EU negotiations today when it closed negotiations in the key area of social policy during another session of the conference on Malta’s accession to the European Union held in Brussels at the level of Deputies. Malta’s delegation was led by the Chairman of the Core Negotiating Group, Mr. Richard Cachia Caruana.

This brings the number of chapters where Malta has provisionally closed negotiations to nineteen out of a total of twenty-nine chapters open for negotiations at this stage. During today’s session, Malta also successfully negotiated four transitional periods. These are the following:

• a transition period until January 2006 for the local industry to adjust work equipment to higher health and safety standards;

• a transition period until January 2004 for the local industry to raise standards on the prevention of risks caused from noise at work;

• a transition period until January 2004 for industry to raise standards on the prevention of risks at construction sites;

• a transition period until July 2004 to implement workers’ rights on the organisation of work and on working time.

A new round of discussions was also held today on the area of competition, which is another important area in negotiations. In this area, amongst other things, Malta is requesting a transition period of seven years to allow the country sufficient time to implement a restructuring plan in the shipbuilding and shiprepair sector.

Addressing the conference, the Chairman of the Core Negotiating Group, Mr. Richard Cachia Caruana, welcomed the closure of negotiations on Social Policy and Employment and in particular the agreement reached on the four transition periods. He said that the outcome of negotiations in this area came after months of intensive talks not just between Maltese and EU officials but also among social partners in Malta. He said that whereas Malta fully endorsed EU standards in the working world and in other aspects of social policy, it had only requested a longer period of adjustment in the case of four EU laws where a longer period of adjustment for industry was necessary. He said that Malta has deliberately attached a great deal of importance to social dialogue throughout the accession process in general and in the negotiations on social policy in particular. The result of negotiations on this important area was therefore also a tribute to social dialogue.

Turning to negotiations on competition, Mr. Cachia Caruana said that over the coming days, the Task Force on the restructuring of the shipbuilding and shiprepair sector that is chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister will present a concrete and realistic plan aimed at achieving financial and economic viability for this industry by 2008. He also referred to other recent developments in this area, including the enactment of the Business Promotion Act which provides a modern package for attracting value-added investment in Malta.

Concluding, Mr Cachia Caruana expressed his hope that further progress would be registered in negotiations in time for the Ministerial meeting that will be held in Brussels in two weeks’ time.

This afternoon’s session was also addressed by Ambassador Frans van Daele, on behalf of the Belgian Presidency. The Presidency expressed its satisfaction at Malta’s progress in negotiations also in the light of what was reported in the Regular Progress Report that was recently published by the European Commission on all candidate countries, including Malta.

The session was also addressed by Mr. Eneko Landaburu, Director-General for Enlargement in the European Commission who expressed his satisfaction at the closure of negotiations in social policy. On competition, Mr Landaburu said that Malta still needed to submit further information to justify its requests in the area of ship-building and ship-repair as well as with respect to the state trading monopoly (Enemalta) in the importation, stocking and sales of petroleum products as well as on the Tour Operators Support Scheme (TOSS) and tax incentives granted under Malta’s previous industrial development law.

Responding to this point, Mr Cachia Caruana said that technical discussions on the specific issues should continue but they must also be accompanied with an awareness of the political sensitivities that are involved.

Mr. Cachia Caruana was accompanied by Mr. Victor Camilleri, Malta’s Ambassador in Brussels, Dr Simon Busuttil, Head of the Malta-EU Information Centre, Ms. Graziella Pullicino, Co-ordinator in the EU Negotiations Secretariat and by a number of officials from Malta’s Embassy in Brussels.