MALTA DIBATTITI TAL-KAMRA TAD-DEPUTATI (Rapport Ufficjali u Rivedut) ID-DISA' PARLAMENT Seduta Nru. 739 It-Tlieta, 21 ta' Mejju, 2002 Stampat fl-Ufficcju ta' l-Iskrivan Kamra tad-Deputati MALTA Prezz Lm1 ID-DISA' PARLAMENT Seduta Nru. 739

It-Tlieta, 21 ta' Mejju, 2002

Il-Kamra tad-Deputati ltaqgħet fil-Kamra tal-Parlament, il-Palazz, il-Belt Valletta, fis-10.12 a.m.

Talba

SEDUTA NRU.

It-Tlieta, 21 ta' Mejju, 2002

WERREJ

INDIRIZZ MILL-ONOREVOLI PAT COX, PRESIDENT TAL-PARLAMENT EWROPEW 805

INDIRIZZ MILL-ONOREVOLI PAT COX, PRESIDENT TAL-PARLAMENT EWROPEW

THE DEPUTY SPEAKER (Onor. Michael Bonnici): Bis-saħħa tal-ftehim li ntlaħaq fil-kumitat dwar ix-xogħol tal-Kamra, nistieden lill-crew televiżiv tal-PBS sabiex jidħlu ħalli jittrasmettu din is-seduta.

L-impjegati tal-PBS daħlu fil-Kamra u bdew jaqdu d-dmirijiet tagħhom.

THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Issa se nissospendi s-seduta għal ftit minuti sakemm Mr Speaker, akkumpanjat mill-Onor.

Pat Cox, President tal-Parlament Ewropew, jidħol fil-Kamra.

Fl-10:15 a.m. is-seduta ġiet sospiża u rriżumiet għaxar minuti wara.

MR SPEAKER (Onor. Anton Tabone): F'isem l-Onor.

Membri tal-Kamra tad- Deputati ta' Malta u f'ismi, nagħti merħba lill-President tal-Parlament Ewropew, l-Onor.

Pat Cox, fl-okkażjoni tal-viżita uffiċjali tiegħu.

F'isimkom ilkoll u f'ismi, nilqgħuh f'din il-Kamra, l-ogħla istituzzjoni tal-pajjiż, espressjoni vera u konkreta ta' demokrazija parlamentari, li permezz tal-membri eletti tirrappreżenta s-sovranita' tal-poplu Malti u Għawdxi kollu, flimkien ma' l-istess valuri umani u ideali demokratiċi li l- poplu tagħna jħaddan.

Fl-okkażjoni ta' din iż-żjara uffiċjali, l-Onor.

Pat Cox se jindirizza lill- Kamra u għalhekk huwa unur u privileġġ għalija li nistieden lill-President tal-Parlament Ewropew sabiex jagħmel id-diskors tiegħu.

I call upon you, Mr President, to address the House.

HON.

PAT COX (President, European Parliament): Mr President, Hon.

Members, Distinguished Visitors, Ladies and Gentlemen.

For me as President of the European Parliament, today is a great honour and a great privilege that you should offer me and the institution which I have the privilege to lead, this possibility to share with you some views on European affairs and expressly some views on the enlargement of the European Union.

This year we are living in a very special year with regard to the enlargement challenge.

If the calendar which we have set works out - and I believe the political momentum is there - then for the European Union politically this will be by the Copenhagen Summit in December, the year of enlargement and so therefore a very special year in the life of the European integration process.

The European Parliament is deeply committed to a successful enlargement of the Union.

When I was elected as its president, just four months ago, I stated that the first of my political priorities would be to work towards that end.

We are today in Europe, in the European Union, through this process which will be the largest and most diverse and most challenging of the enlargements to date.

We are being touched by the hand of history itself.

This generation of Europeans is being called upon to bring to a close the wounds and the hurts on continental Europe of a barbaric 20th century and we are faced with the possibility of a wonderful renewal and renaissance of a Europe of common values, of free markets, of pluralist democracy, of respect for the rule of law, of reconciliation and of the possibility of new opportunity for our peoples.

And it is a moment that the European Parliament is determined to seize.

As this generation of Europeans, we are faced - and here I speak for the European Parliament - with a prospect that has no parallel in European history.

In all the millennia that we have lived the diversity of our shared continent - and you have lived it here with more intensity than most - we have never come together in common cause by the free will of free peoples.

Various visions of that Europe have come at the point of a sword or through the barrel of a gun, but never in this way through the free consent of the free will of free peoples to make that kind of common cause.

And that's why I say this is indeed politically a very special year.

This visit which I make on behalf of the European Parliament is one of a series of visits right at the beginning of my presidency to mark the attachment that we feel from the top down in our institution, the resolve that we have politically to make this challenge come to a successful fruition.

In the European Parliament we will debate before the Seville Summit meeting of the Spanish Presidency ̧ the current state of enlargement.

And hence my being here, of course with the privilege to speak today but also I want to say with the privilege to listen today, and I want to listen.

I want to listen to your diversities because I know that there are diversities of opinion.

I want to understand your sense of this moment as I hope and appreciate and believe you understand mine through these remarks.

We shall also be debating in Parliament in November of this year the commission's country by country assessment of who at that moment in time is deemed to have fulfilled the requirements and conditions for entry.

We shall do so in the presence of the Danish Prime Minister and we shall prepare the way in that sense for the Copenhagen Summit and put some momentum politically behind that process.

I want to say to you, Mr President, that I shall correspond with you at an early date, to invite you to nominate members of this House in its diversity to come to our Parliament in November, to sit with a political group of their preference, to engage with us in the debate of that vital time, to bring with you media who can report the nature of that debate, and we shall be doing that for each of the candidate State Parliaments to create at that moment in time a sense of the extraordinary prospect politically that shall be at hand.

I'm very pleased also to be here for a second general line of reasoning with regard to enlargement.

Not surprisingly, the great wave of this enlargement geografically is towards Central and Eastern Europe, because the heavier part of that hand of history to which I referred touches us particulary from that part of our continent.

But I'm especially pleased to be in Malta - as I was recently in Cyprus - because the enlargement is not only eastern but potentially and subject to your will, also southern.

And the Mediterranean part can bring to this task, as the French would say, a new (lan, a new spring to our step in terms of Euro-Mediterranean dialogue, in terms of the Barcelona process, in terms of bridge-building to a wider set of shared responsibilities.

And in that bridge-building road you can offer something of real and tangible worth to the wider European Union in terms of your historic experience, in terms of your crossroads location and in terms of your political and diplomatic contacts and capacities.

I myself am an Irish European ̧ like you an islander ̧ like you proud of the traditions and identity of my own people.

And so when I speak with this privilege in the Parliament of an island community with a long history, proud of its own identity, I hope you will allow me to give some reflections not just as President of the European Parliament but also as an islander, also as an Irish European.

For my own part, I believe in my country that in the last century ̧ the 20th century ̧ we had two acts of Irish liberation.

Ours was a long experience of colonisation, an experience I don't need to dwell on as in this particular island we've all had experiences.

Our political independence came in 1922 but we remained stubbornly locked into a post-colonial, economic, regional, stagnant dependency - in our case because of the geography - of the former colonial power, the United Kingdom.

As recently as 1960, three quarters of all the exports in my State went to the United Kingdom and 90% of the agricultural exports went to the United Kingdom.

Our pound was their pound.

We had our own currency but we had sterling parity.

Our stagnant economy meant that we exported our people through emigration more than we exported goods and services, and many went to the UK and so we had a virtually common labour market.

And there was a period of political sovereignty and economic stagnation.

And so the second act of Irish liberation began with a planned strategic move towards engagement with the European Union, the plan to cut the umbilical cord that led to the stagnation and connect ourselves to a wider set of possibilities.

And I believe it has been a truly liberating experience in those terms.

We had at the time a very active debate, and indeed I know on this island - because I have been a visitor here before but this is my first political visit here - that you are no strangers to some of the voices who would give you another view from my country.

Some of the more prominent among them told us at the beginning: You cannot go in because if you do ̧ all the resources and wealth will be sucked into the centre and the periphery will simply provide the labour force for the centre.

That centre periphery paradigm proved to be an illusion.

The contrary has been the case, the liberation of market-based opportunity in a competitive economy.

And that took time because the competitive economy did not come overnight.

It was a deep Irish struggle inside Irish social and political and economic systems but when it came it offered transformation.

In fact the periphery - and not just Ireland but Spain, Greece and Portugal - has shown a dramatically greater capacity for growth in the centre.

And so the old paradigm turned out to be false and it did not work, at least in the experience of the island that I have the privilege to represent.

We had a big debate about the funding, and the funding was significant for infrastructure, for environment projects and transport.

It has been of enormous benefit but the bread and butter muscular effect of Europe and Ireland and Ireland and Europe has not been the funding but the market access.

When we joined in 1973 - you cannot transpose from one to another, so I make no transposition but the story nonetheless is worth recording to you – the total value of exports worldwide, although mostly to the UK, stood at euro 5 billion.

Last year the total value of exports with about one-fifth going to the UK, stood at euro 82.5 billion.

Subject to remaining competitive, that is the bread and butter on Irish tables today.

It's the thing that has allowed my children's generation an opportunity that my father's generation was not bold enough to dream of and that my generation could only hope for.

It has allowed us to begin to bring our people home, to become a place that sells goods and services but not our birthright, our identity, our self-awareness and our place.

And I say it to you not because you can transpose one experience to another place, but because the great part of this voyage of self-discovery is that the intelligent interdependence that we chose has repaid itself handsomely in a new self-confidence and a new self-awareness in a country with a strong sense of continuity of its own identity.

Our culture, even our traditional culture, music and language, are in a healthier state today than they were in the era of stagnation and depression which preceded this moment.

I might make another general observation, a similarity between your island and mine.

In the Republic of Ireland, our State, in demographics, in terms of background is predominantly Roman Catholic and so there were a lot of people who said at the beginning: Don't go in because the Europeans will impose their values on us.

Do we have divorce in Ireland?

The answer is: Yes, we do.

How did we get it?

Through a series of Irish constitutional referenda.

Who chose?

The people of Ireland.

What was the role of the European Union?

Zero.

Do we have abortion in the Republic of Ireland?

The answer is: No. How have we chosen?

We've had three referenda so far on this question and the answer remained: No. Who chose?

The Irish people.

The role of the European Union: Zero, because it is our business and no one else's. The European Union has no competence in the treaties conferred on itself to interfere in those things.

The rest of the world, the rest of Europe might look on and say: This is odd by our view, this is backward, this is acceptable, this is not, but still it is not their business.

We are Irish and it is our identity, our values, our rights, our capacity to assert what they should be.

The world has changed dramatically since the collapse of communism and the old notions of power blocks and balance of power and Warsaw Pact and NATO have been radically transformed.

My country is militarily neutral and non- aligned and there is still a sensitive debate in my country on this question.

I want to tell you that in all the years we have been in the European Union, no single Irish troop has ever served on a foreign mission, UN, European or otherwise, without the consent and approval of the Irish Government and the Irish Parliament.

No one in Brussels has had any authority to send one person on one mission anywhere, anytime.

And that experience is the fact and the reality inside the 30 years of experience we've lived to this point with the European engagement.

And still in my own country I am a supporter in our debate, which is a very sensitive one, for the steps we see happening in Europe, and let me tell you why.

I was a member of the European Parliament in 1995 at a session in the Strasbourg Parliament when Srebrenica fell, and I couldn't allow myself to take part in a debate that week or to send another useless resolution as we faced the inevitable.

And it happened, the slaughter of some thousands of innocents because of religious difference and fanaticism in terms of what was happening on the ground.

I'm so proud that modest as it is, the European Union has learnt some lessons and already in Macedonia has contributed in a different way, by resolution, by being there, by being willing to be active partners on the ground to achieve success.

It's so much better than what went on before.

I support it and I support it in good conscience and I think we need to look at more of it.

I should like, Mr President, to turn if I may now, to a number of comments about Malta and the enlargement question.

I'm aware that opinion in this House and in this country is divided.

I should tell you - and you know this well - that in my country, at its last outing, the Treaty of Nice failed to win majority support, and I want to tell you this as an Irishman about that and about you.

As a politician, I believe that we the political class must take back from the experts who negotiate all the details in our ministries and in the commission in Brussels - and that is why in November it is important for me that we have you there in Parliament, with whichever voices you wish to bring to that debate - all of this package and connect it to the calculus of public consent.

That is the role of the political class in any debate.

I'm proud to come from a Republic which does not consist of submissive subjects but which consists of active citizens, rude and all an awakening, as the active citizenry can give the political class from time to time.

And that is a healthy thing in European democracy, not a thing to flee from or fear.

And so your debate is an active ingredient also in terms of being active citizens and not merely submissive subjects and is a vital ingredient to a healthy, open and democratic European process.

I want to say to you as I look at the record of negotiation, that what you have negotiated with regard to the free movement of workers for your island economy labour market - and this that I tell is simply objective - in the comparative analysis that I have made on every visit I've made either as a liberal group leader before or now as president - I've been in every State of the Union, and now as president already in the four months, this is my seventh visit of this kind - no other State negotiated that possibility, and this is unique and unparalleled among the negotiations by States.

On the question of secondary residencies - this again is a comparative observation - no other State has negotiated a similar clause anywhere in Europe, none.

On the question of language, I'm extremely pleased that the Union recognises and celebrates your identity by the willingness to treat as an official and working language of the Union your language Malti because it says to your citizens that we will make the investment - we in the parliament will make it also - to make sure that when it comes to making law, that that law shall be in your language accessible to any citizen who wishes to access it, open to be influenced through the democratic process by any citizen who wishes to do it, open to anyone of you, whatever your language skills, to rely if it is more nuanced, on your own native tongue.

And that investment in cultural diversity is indispensable to the kind of Europe I believe in because the repository of our civic and cultural traditions lies where we come from, and we will never successfully build a European integration process if it should be built at the price of not celebrating the very diversity from whence we come.

Each of these things is comparatively a significant achievement.

Much has been done in the negotiations and more is still to be done before year's end.

But in the end the choice is your choice, not our choice.

There is no external diktat.

You, in the reflective wisdom of your own debate, will call the judgement and no one shall call it for you.

I should like, Mr President, to bring my address to a close by quoting to you and for you the words of a very distinguished European statesman, a recent distinguished visitor to Malta, and as I could see in the reports, much celebrated during his visit, President Vaclav Havel of the Czech Republic.

He spoke in our chamber twice.

I quote from a speech in 1990 - I was then one year a member of parliament.

We had at the time, as you have here your national flag.

We had behind him the European flag with the twelve stars and – let me quote - he said:

"To me the twelve stars of the European flag do not express the proud conviction that we will build heaven on this earth.

There will never be heaven on earth.

I see these twelve stars as a reminder that the world could become a better place, a better place in time and from time to time, if we only had the courage to look up to the stars."

The appeal I would make to you, nothwithstanding the necessary requirement to engage and labour in the dabate on the introspective specific detail of each part of the negotiating mandate, to take some time-out and look at the stars, to lift your gaze above the introspection and the detail and to look at the bigger picture and pose the questions.

And if you have fears to talk them through, but not to fall into the trap so brilliantly identified for the population of the United States. in the 1930s by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, when he said there was nothing to fear but fear itself.

This is a most exciting time to have the privilege to lead a major European political institution.

We have launched effectively the euro as a currency, now in our pockets.

We have a convention on the future of Europe in which you have your place.

We have the enlargement taking a shape politically this year that gives us a new dynamic.

The choice is yours, not mine.

Our door is open, our hearts are open to you.

You have a long and complex and wonderful history of survival.

I believe – but my belief is still not your choice, that is your privilege – you can thrive in that context and I would say to you personally: I really think you should seize the moment, but the choice to seize it or not is yours.

(Hon.

Members: Hear, hear) (Applause)

MR SPEAKER: Thank you very much, Mr President.

Issa nistieden lill-Prim Ministru biex jagħmel id-diskors tiegħu.

Il-Prim Ministru.

ONOR.

EDDIE FENECH ADAMI (Prim Ministru): Mr Speaker, Sur President tal- Parlament Ewropew.

Irrid nilqa' lilek, Sur President, f'isem il-Gvern Malti u l-poplu Malti talli għoġbok tagħmel din il-viżita u tindirizza lil dan il-Parlament f'dan il-mument storiku għal pajjiżna wkoll, mument ta' dibattitu intens, ta' djalettika sħiħa dwar ir-relazzjoni futura bejn Malta u l-Unjoni Ewropea.

M'għandix dubju, Sur President, li inti fil-ftit żmien li se tkun hawn Malta se jkollok iċ-ċans illi tikkonstata li l-Maltin kollha, bla eċċezzjoni, jagħrfu l-valur ta' l-Unjoni Ewropea bħala forza għall-paċi, bħala garanzija ta' l-osservanza u r-rispett tad-drittijiet fundamentali tal-bniedem, bħala bażi ta' ekonomija soda li dejjem tikber, u dan it- tkabbir ta' l-ekonomija fil-ħarsien ta' politika soċjali ġusta u ekwilibrata.

Fuq dan jien nassigurak li hawn il-kunsens tal-poplu Malti kollu kemm hu.

Il-Gvern Malti, immexxi minni, iqis ukoll li sħubija fl-Unjoni Ewropea tkun il-konsolidament tas-sovranità ta' pajjiżna.

Malta, bħala pajjiż sovran, għadha fil-bidu tagħha.

Malta saret indipendenti fl-1964 u aħna nħarsu lejn is-sovranità li ksibna dakinhar bħala ħaġa fundamentali għall-iżvilupp ta' pajjiżna.

Il-Gvern Malti jqis li sħubija fl-Unjoni Ewropea se tagħti lill-poplu Malti l-opportunità li jipparteċipa bħala poplu sovran fid- deċiżjonijiet ta' l-Unjoni Ewropea, liema deċiżjonijiet jinfluwenzaw lill- poplu Malti, lill-pajjiżi membri u lil ħafna pajjiżi oħra 'l hinn mill- Unjoni Ewropea.

Għalhekk il-Gvern Malti jqis sħubija fl-Unjoni Ewropea mhux bħala xi theddida jew tnaqqis tas-sovranità tagħna, imma għall- kuntrarju bħala opportunità biex insaħħu u neżerċitaw is-sovranità tagħna b'mod iktar sinifikanti milli huwa l-każ illum.

Irrid ngħid, Sur President, illi Malta mhux beħsiebha tkun membru passiv fl- Unjoni Ewropea.

Malta għandha kull intenzjoni li tkun membru attiv, daqskemm konna f'dawk l-għaqdiet kollha internazzjonali li sseħibna fihom meta sirna pajjiż indipendenti.

Malta kellha okkażjonijiet li ssemma' l- vuċi tagħha b'mod importanti fin-Nazzjonijiet Uniti, fil-Kunsill ta' l- Ewropa, fl-Organizzazzjoni għas-Sigurtà u l-Koperazzjoni fl-Ewropa u issa, f'dawn l-aħħar snin, fil-Euro-Med fejn aħna qegħdin nipprovaw nagħtu l- kontribut tagħna bl-aħjar mod li nistgħu.

Għalhekk l-Unjoni Ewropea għalina hija mezz kif aħna nkunu aktar attivi milli nistgħu nkunu llum għax ikollna, kif diġà għedt, sehem fid-dibattitu u fid-deċiżjonijiet li tieħu l- Unjoni Ewropea.

Mr Speaker u Sur President, f'dawn il-ġranet il-poplu Malti kollu laqa' bi pjaċir kbir id-deċiżjoni li l-Malti se jkun ilsien uffiċjali fl-Unjoni Ewropea.

Ippermettili ngħid, Sur President, li aħna l-Maltin inqisu lilna nfusna bħala poplu kburi, kburi bl-identità tagħna li żammejna bla mittiefsa tul millennji ta' dominazzjoni minn popli oħrajn, millennji fejn kien hawn influwenzi kbar u tentattivi li kienu espliċiti ħafna biex il- valur tal-lingwa Maltija u l-identità tagħna titnaqqas.

Tul iż-żmenijiet irnexxielna nżommu din l-identità tagħna minkejja li, kif għedt, aħna ninsabu ġeografikament f'żona fil-Mediterran li minnha għaddew tant kulturi u dominazzjonijiet ta' popli oħrajn.

L-ilsien Malti huwa forza unifikanti ta' l-identità Maltija u huwa deskrizzjoni ħajja ta' din l-identità Ewropea u Mediterranja tagħna.

Mhux il-mument li noqgħod nidħol fuq x'inhi l-lingwa Maltija, imma naħseb li kulħadd huwa konxju li l-lingwa Maltija hija l-fużjoni bejn lingwa semitika u influwenza Ewropea, influwenza tal-lingwa Romanza li t-tnejn flimkien jiffurmaw lingwa unika, il-lingwa Maltija li nitkellmu aħna biss hawn Malta.

Għalhekk, nerġa' ngħid, kien ta' sodisfazzjon kbir għalina li fin-negozjati, li kultant ma kenux faċli, rnexxilna nakkwistaw dan ir- rikonoxximent għal-lingwa tagħna.

In-negozjati ma' l-Unjoni Ewropea daħħlu issa fil-fażi finali tagħhom u kif kien mistenni hemm, kien hemm u għad hemm diffikultajiet.

Min-naħa waħda għandek l-Unjoni Ewropea li tipprova tissalvagwarda l-prinċipji li hija diġa` akkwistat u nbniet fuqha, tipprova tissalvagwarda l-prinċipju fundamentali li kull pajjiż membru ta' l-Unjoni ma jagħmel ebda diskriminazzjoni bejn ċittadini ta' l-Ewropa ġejjin mil-liema pajjiż ġejjin.

Aħna nifhmu li dan huwa prinċipju importanti ħafna għall-Unjoni Ewropea.

Iżda min-naħa tagħna qegħdin nagħmlu dak kollu li nistgħu biex niżguraw li l-fattispecie ta' gżiritna ta' dan in-nazzjon żgħir ikunu wkoll salvagwardati u rridu li f'dawn in-negozjati niżguraw li l-prinċipju ġenerali li ma jkunx hemm diskriminazzjoni ma jkunx ta' detriment għall- poplu tagħna f'xi setturi partikolari.

Sur President, inti rriferejt diġa' għall-konklużjoni proviżorja ta' żewġ kapitoli, wieħed dwar il-moviment ħieles tal-persuni u l-ieħor dwar il- moviment ħieles tal-kapital.

U jien sodisfatt ħafna li f'dawn iż-żewġ kapitoli, in-negozjati fl-Unjoni Ewropea wrew li għalkemm l-Unjoni Ewropea hija iebsa ħafna fis-salvagwardja tal-prinċipji tagħha, hija għarfet ukoll il-pożizzjoni partikolari, il-fattispecie ta' pajjiżna.

Għaliex aħna poplu żgħir, drajna nadattaw ruħna għaċ-ċirkostanzi ġodda u l-poplu Malti kollu qiegħed jifhem li dan huwa mument ta' importanza kbira għal pajjiżna.

Qegħdin naraw bidliet kbar li d-dinja kollha qiegħda tgħaddi minnhom u huwa l-mument li l-poplu Malti għal darba oħra juri li għandu fiduċja fih innifsu u ma jaqtax qalbu mid-diffikultajiet li jista' jkollna.

Il-periklu naturalment hu li hawn il-ftit li jibżgħu u l-periklu jikber meta lil dawk li jibżgħu jkun hawn min mhux jgħinhom biex iwarrbu l-biża' u jagħtihom il-kuraġġ imma jiffomenta aktar il-biża' kimerika, dik il-biża' li tista' twassal biex ittelfek ukoll id-dawl tar-raġuni.

Iżda l-Gvern Malti mhux qiegħed jaqta' qalbu għaliex jaf li l-poplu Malti f'din id- djalettika kontinwa dwar x'għandu jkun il-futur ta' pajjiżna, qiegħed jifhem x'inhi sħubija għal pajjiżna.

Ifisser li Malta trid tagħmel il-pass fl-evoluzzjoni politika, ekonomika u soċjali li jmiss.

Diġa' kellna ngħaddu minn ċirkostanzi bħal dawn.

Inti, Sur President, irriferejt għall-indipendenza ta' pajjiżek fl-1922.

Jien nirriferi għall-indipendenza ta' pajjiżna fl-1964, fejn il-qies ta' l- ekonomija tagħna kien xi ħaġa li serva biex beżża' lil xi nies f'pajjiżna, li staqsew kif jista' jkun li Malta tikkompeti bħala pajjiż indipendenti meta ma kienx iktar se jkollna l-għajnuna tal-preżenza tal-Gvern Ingliż f'Malta.

Effettivament rajna li l-poplu Malti rebaħ il-biża', ikkonfronta s-sitwazzjoni li kellna quddiemna dakinhar u llum ilkoll niftaħru li s-snin ta' l-indipendenza kienu snin ta' suċċess għal pajjiżna.

Wasalna fi stat li proprju min dakinhar kien kontra, illum qed insibuħ bħala l-paladin li qed jgħidilna li rridu issa, b'mod żbaljat naturalment, niddefendu l- indipendenza ta' pajjiżna għaliex din tintilef jekk nidħlu fl-Unjoni Ewropea!

Affarijiet li ma jiġrux spiss f'pajjiżna, pero' naħseb li l-poplu Malti qiegħed jara b'mod oġġettiv x'inhi l-għażla li għandna quddiemna.

Huwa l-pjaċir tiegħi li għal darba oħra fil-5 ta' Settembru ta' l-1998, il- poplu Malti kien mitlub jagħżel liema gvern irid u l-partit tiegħi kellu bl- iktar mod espliċitu għal darba oħra, bħala l-pern tal-politika tiegħu, li jwassal lil Malta fl-Unjoni Ewropea.

Il-poplu Malta kkonferma dak il- mandat u għalhekk din in-naħa tal-Kamra mhux qiegħda tagħmel ħaġa oħra ħlief tesegwixxi l-mandat li rċevejna mill-poplu b'maġġoranza ta' 52% tal- voti popolari biex inkomplu bin-negozjati sakemm naslu biex Malta tidħol fl- Unjoni Ewropea.

Sur President, fiċ-ċirkostanzi partikolari ta' Malta, fejn hawn dibattitu kontinwu bejn iż-żewġ naħat ta' din il-Kamra dwar is-sħubija ta' Malta, il- gvern tiegħi qed joffri li d-deċiżjoni dwar id-dħul ta' Malta fl-Unjoni Ewropea tiġi deċiża f'referendum b'mod mill-iktar demokratiku u popolari.

Il-gvern tiegħi jrid li malli jispiċċaw in-negozjati u allura l-poplu Malti jkollu quddiemu l-pakkett sħiħ tal-kondizzjonijiet li japplikaw għal Malta mas-sħubija, aħna nsejħu referendum biex jiddeċiedi fuq dan il-pakkett huwiex aċċettabbli jew le għall-poplu tagħna.

Jien m'għandix dubju, Sur President, li l-poplu Malti qiegħed jifhem is- sens storiku ta' dan il-mument, qiegħed jifhem li l-futur ta' pajjiżna se jiġi deċiż f'dan ir-referendum u m'għandi ebda dubju li kif għedt int ukoll, il-poplu Malti jifhem li l-għażla li sejrin nagħmlu se tkun għażla mhux biss għalina iżda se tkun l-għażla għal uliedna.

(Onor. Membri: Hear, hear).

MR SPEAKER: Grazzi.

Issa nistieden lill-Kap ta' l-Oppożizzjoni biex jagħmel id-diskors tiegħu.

Il-Kap ta' l-Oppożizzjoni.

ONOR.

ALFRED SANT (Kap ta' l-Oppożizzjoni): Sur President tal- Parlament Ewropew, f'isem il-poplu Malti u Għawdxi nagħtik jien ukoll il- merħba f'pajjiżna.

Malta hi fost l-iċken pajjiżi ta' l-Ewropa, gżira li tinsab fiċ-ċentru tal-Mediterran u f'qasma strateġika bejn in-nofsinhar u t- tramuntana ta' dan il-baħar tant kruċjali għall-Ewropa.

Hi gżira li matul is-sekli tat kontribut akbar mid-daqs relattiv tagħha fit-tiswir ta' l- istorja Ewropea.

Għamlitu l-aktar bħala fortizza fejn potenzi barranin stazzjonaw truppi u vapuri tal-gwerra.

Il-viżjoni ta' l-oppożizzjoni Laburista hi li fi żmenijiet futuri Malta tagħti issa l-aħjar kontribut lill-Ewropa imma għall-iżvilupp u l-paċi tal- kontinent tagħna, kif ukoll għall-iżvilupp u l-paċi fil-Mediterran.

Dan nagħmluh billi bin-newtralita' li tinsab imnaqqxa fil-kostituzzjoni tagħna, dawn il-gżejjer iservu mhux aktar bħala fortizza fuq fruntiera.

Minflok iridu jidhru bħala pont ta' paċi, bħala lok fejn jistgħu jiltaqgħu b'sens ta' serħan il-moħħ il-ġnus li jdawruna biex jagħmlu n-negozju bejniethom, biex isiru jafu lil xulxin aħjar, biex jirrikreaw ruħhom.

Aħna nħarsu lejn l-Unjoni Ewropea bħala proċess pożittiv ħafna li qed iwassal lejn aktar prosperita' u stabilita' fl-Ewropa.

Aħna nemmnu li Malta għandu jkollha l-aħjar relazzjoni possibbli ma' l-Unjoni Ewropa, relazzjoni li trid tkun għall-qies taċ-ċirkostanzi partikolari tagħna.

Il- Partit Laburista jagħraf li din l-aħjar rabta għandha tieħu s-sura ta' ftehim speċjali bejn Malta u l-Unjoni Ewropea, ftehim li jwettaq partnership bejn iż-żewġ naħat, ftehim li jieħu l-mudell li aħna nsejħu wkoll bħala Malta Svizzera fil-Mediterran.

F'dan il-qafas meta kien fil-gvern, il-Partit Laburita ppropona ftehim speċjali ma' l-Unjoni Ewropea u kien sar qbil ma' l-Unjoni f'April ta' l- 1998 f'Lussemburgu biex iż-żewġ naħat jimxu ħalli jinnegozjaw dwaru u biex iwettquh.

Ftit wara qamu diffikultajiet politiċi interni fil-Parlament Malti.

Minħabba l-gerrymandering tad-distretti elettorali li kien sar mill- Partit Nazzjonalista fil-gvern qabel l-elezzjoni ta' Ottubru 1996, il-gvern Laburista, li kellu maġġoranza ta' wieħed biss fil-Parlament, minkejja li bir-riżultat elettorali li kiseb kien jimmeritah maġġoranza akbar ta' deputati.

Il-gvern Laburista tilef il-maġġoranza parlamentari tiegħu u kellu jsejjaħ elezzjoni bikrija.

Il-Partit Laburista għadu jemmen li l-aħjar rabta bejn Malta u l-Unjoni Ewropea għandha tibni fuq żona ta' kummerċ industrijali ħieles bejn iż-żewġ naħat.

Il-kummerċ ħieles fil-qasam tal-biedja għandu jkun mibni madwar konċessjonijiet li ż-żewġ naħat jagħtu lil xulxin.

B'riżultat ta' dan, Malta tibqa' tipproteġi għal raġunijiet strateġiċi l-biedja tagħha u tibqa' tixtri l-bżonnijiet ta' l-ikel tagħha minn sorsi internazzjonali bl-irħas prezzijiet tas-suq.

Il-partnership bejn Malta u l-Unjoni Ewropea jkun jinkludi wkoll protokolli ta' koperazzjoni profonda fl-oqsma ekonomiċi, tekniċi u finanzjarji, fl-oqsma soċjali fosthom edukazzjoni, ambjent u saħħa, fl-oqsma tas-sigurtaċ bħal fil-ġlieda kontra t-terroriżmu, kontra l- ħasil tal-flus, kontra l-immigrazzjoni klandestina u kontra t-traffiku tad- drogi u ta' l-armi.

Fl-aħħar il-parnership bejnietna għandu jkollu wkoll protokoll speċjali li jiddefinixxi kooperazzjoni politika bejn il-Parlament Malti u l-Parlament Ewropew kif ukoll bejn il-Gvern Malti u l-awtoritajiet ta' Brussels.

Għall- elezzjoni li jmiss il-Partit Laburista se jipproponi lill-poplu Malti din it-triq f'qafas ta' programm wiesgħa ta' tmexxija tal-gvern.

Se nagħmlu l- proposti tagħna b'sens ta' realiżmu u b'impenn.

M'aħniex se nwiegħdu l- ġenna fl-art kif għamlu l-avversarji politiċi tagħna fl-aħħar elezzjoni.

Dakinhar per eżempju huma wegħdu li jekk jirbħu l-elezzjoni Malta tibda tingħata mal-Lm100 miljun, jiġifieri madwar Euro 300 miljun fis-sena malli terġa' tattiva l-applikazzjoni tagħha biex il-pajjiż jidħol membru sħiħ fl- Unjoni Ewropea.

M'hemmx għalfejn ngħidu dawn il-flus qatt ma waslu.

Bil- maqlub, fl-aħħar tliet snin u nofs, bi spiża kbira fi flus u f'riżorsi umani, l-isforzi kollha tal-gvern ġew dedikati b'mod ossessjonali ħalli jlaħħqu mat-talbiet ta' Brussels biex il-pajjiż jibdel kull regola ta' tmexxija tiegħu sakemm issir bħal dik ta' l-Unjoni Ewropea.

Sadanittant oqsma ewlenin tal-ħidma nazzjonali tħallew jaqgħu lura.

Il-pajjiż qed jaffaċċja staġnar ekonomiku mifrux.

Minkejja li l-piż tat-taxxi żdied fl-aħħar tliet snin u nofs b'Lm240 miljun fis-sena fuq il-familji, id-deficit pubbliku għadu fil-qagħda mwergħa li tpoġġa fih bejn is-snin 1992 u l-1996 mill-gvern Nazzjonalista ta' dak iż- żmien.

Biex tagħqad, investiment dirett f'impriżi ġodda tista' tgħid li nixef fuq iz-zokk.

Terġa' bl-iskuża li fil-qasam ambjentali aħjar nistennew li jiġu flus u għajnuna qawwija minn Brussels, qed inħallu problemi ambjentali akuti joktru.

Għalhekk wara l-elezzjoni li jmiss gvern Laburista ġdid se jkun, iva, qiegħed jagħti importanza xierqa lir-relazzjonijiet ta' Malta ma' l-Unjoni Ewropea imma se jkun qed jagħti wkoll importanza ugwali, jekk mhux akbar, lill-ħtieġa biex nerġgħu npoġġu lil pajjiżna fuq it-triq it-tajba.

Aħna nemmnu fil-ħila tal-poplu Malti li jieħu u jwettaq dawk id-deċiżjonijiet li huma neċessarji fl-interess nazzjonali u fl-interess tal-familji Maltin u Għawdxin kollha.

Għalkemm l-għajnuna u s-solidarjeta' ta' ġnus oħra tkun dejjem apprezzata bi kbir, hu l-poplu Malti nnifsu li jrid jieħu d- deċiżjonijiet il-kbar li jinsabu quddiemu dwar ristrutturar u mmodernizzar tal-pajjiż.

F'din il-perspettiva, il-Partit Laburista qed iħejji pjan għal wara l- elezzjoni li jmiss biex indaħħlu pakkett ta' stimulu ekonomiku u finanzjarju li jkun jgħodd għaċ-ċirkostanzi tagħna.

Se nitilqu biex nagħtu spinta 'l quddiem lit-turiżmu peress li f'Malta dan is-settur għandu importanza relattivament wisq akbar minn kull każ fi kwalunkwe pajjiż Ewropew ieħor.

Jekk it-turiżmu tagħna jistagħna, inkunu tlaqna biex inxejnu d-dalma u l-inċertezza ekonomika li għandna bħalissa.

Inkunu qed nagħtu n-nifs lill-qasam tas-self-employed iż-żgħar li jinsab imgħakkes sew mill-qagħda ekonomika tagħna.

Barra minn hekk beħsiebna niftħu ħidma intensa wkoll permezz ta' inċentivi speċjali biex nattiraw lejn pajjiżna investiment dirett ġdid fl-oqsma tal- manifattura u tas-servizzi finanzjarji.

Dan hu meħtieġ biex titjieb il- kompetittivita' f'qafas ta' ġustizzja soċjali sostnuta u biex jiżdiedu l- opportunitajiet ta' impjiegi produttivi.

Hemm bżonn li opportunitajiet bħal dawn tassew joffru kuraġġ u orizzonti ġodda ta' impjiegi għaż-żgħażagħ tagħna.

Priorita' oħra għall-gvern Laburista ġdid se tkun dik li nrażżnu ż-żieda fid-deficit pubbliku billi nikkontrollaw tassew iż-żieda fl-ispiża reali tal-gvern, ħaġa li m'hijiex qed tiġri bħalissa.

U għad hemm ħafna x'isir biex is-servizzi tal-gvern isiru aktar effiċjenti waqt li titwaqqaf il- ħela.

Fl-istess linja, gvern Laburista ġdid m'huwiex se joqgħod jistenna li forsi l-manna taqa' mis-sema.

Se jitlaq biex jieħu miżuri serji li tassew ireġġgħu lura t-taħsir ta' l-ambjent li tħalla jinfirex wisq.

Ukoll, se nerġgħu nitilqu għal għonq it-triq li konna nedejna bejn l-1996 u l-1998 biex l-edukazzjoni pubblika fl-oqsma primarji, sekondarji u sekondarji tekniċi, tingħata l-attenzjoni li jixirqilha.

Fil-ħidma li jrid iwettaq, il-Partit Laburista żgur li se jibqa' jisħaq fuq il-valuri essenzjali tiegħu, valuri li dejjem kienu mnebbħa mill-ideali politiċi u soċjali ta' l-Ewropa progressiva.

Aħna nemmnu li Malta għandha ħafna x'tikkontribwixxi lejn it-tisħiħ tal-wirt Ewropew, dejjem niftehmu skond il-kejl tagħha u mingħajr fanfarunati.

Nemmnu li l-aqwa wirt ta' l-Ewropa joħroġ minn eżistenza fi ħdanha ta' diversita' inkomparabbli ta' sistemi nazzjonali li żviluppaw maġenb xulxin f'armonija u bi kreattivita'.

Ikun żball gravi ħafna jekk xi mudell wieħed ta' għaqda Ewropea, effettiv kemm hu effettiv, irabbi bixra eġemonika.

Ikun żball agħar jekk mudell eġemoniku jiġi impost fuq iċ-ċittadini ta' pajjiżi Ewropej, żgħar jew kbar, bill l-istess kejl ta' ħajja u ta' żvilupp jiġi jorbot lil kulħadd.

Spirtu eġemoniku jġib miegħu ċentralizzazzjoni dejjem akbar.

Kull meta dan seħħ fil-qafas Ewropew dejjem tqanqlu movimenti popolari ta' rifjut mill-aktar wiesa'.

Dan hu li jagħmel il- ġenju Ewropew daqstant oriġinali u attraenti.

Il-Partit Laburista għandu fiduċja li l-Unjoni Ewropea wkoll sejra tifhem li hemm aktar minn mod wieħed kif tkun Ewropew.

Nerġa' ngħid, kull ġens Ewropew irid jingħata n-nifs u l-ispazju biex jiżviluppa skond iċ- ċirkostanzi li fihom isib ruħu.

B'hekk ikun jista' jaġixxi skond il- potenzjal li jipposjedi biex miċ-ċirkostanzi li jkunu tiegħu jagħti kontribut siwi lill-paċi u lill-progress fl-Ewropa u fl-inħawi li jdawruha.

U fuq dawn is-sisien il-Partit Laburista se jibni l-futur għal Malta u għar- relazzjonijiet futuri tagħha ma' l-Unjoni Ewropea.

(Onor. Membri: Hear, hear)

MR SPEAKER: Grazzi.

Nirringrazzja mill-ġdid lill-President tal- Parlament Ewropew, lill-Prim Ministru u lill-Kap ta' l-Oppożizzjoni u ngħarraf li s-seduta hija issa sospiża għal żewġ minuti sakemm jiena nakkompanja lill-Onor.

Pat Cox sas-Sala ta' l-Arazzi.

THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Skond il-ftehim milħuq, is-Seduta hija aġġornata għal-lejla, it-Tlieta, 21 ta' Mejju, 2002 fis-6.00 p.m. bl-aġenda kif komunikata l-bieraħ mill-Viċi Prim Ministru.

Grazzi ħafna.

Fil-11.23 p.m. il-Kamra aġġornat mingħajr ma saret il-mistoqsija.