9 - 15 December 1999

PM back at EU summit after three and a half years

by Steve Chetcuti

Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami yesterday left for Helsinki to attend a European Union summit after an absence of three and a half years. The EU heads of government meeting, to be held between tomorrow and Saturday will effectively rubber stamp the start of membership negotiations between the Union and six applicant countries including Malta.

Addressing a brief press conference prior to his departure for Helsinki, Dr Fenech Adami said the meeting was historic for Malta. "Everybody is expecting a decision on when negotiations between Malta and five other countries will begin. This is a historic occasion as we are back to the position we were in 1996 when we attended the Florence summit," Dr Fenech Adami said.

At that meeting, he continued, it had been confirmed that Malta was to begin negotiations six months after the end of the inter-governmental conference and if everything had gone on course, negotiations would have started in 1998.

This will be the first summit the Prime Minister is being invited to attend since Malta re-activated its application. Dr Fenech Adami said substantial progress had been made in the first years since the Nationalist Party regained power.

The advantage now, the PM maintained, was that negotiations will begin after the summit, probably next year. He also said the government hoped they will move ahead at an accelerated pace. Last week, EU foreign ministers gave the go-ahead for the six countries, including Malta, to start negotiations with the union.

Meanwhile, freezing weather is expected as leaders of the EU member countries and applicant countries arrive in the Finnish capital with temperatures dropping below zero.

During his brief stay in Helsinki, Dr Fenech Adami will also attend the "pre-summit summit" of the European People's Parties which he is expected to address tomorrow afternoon.

The EPP will be discussing, among other things, the enlargement of the EU and the PM will be speaking about the competitiveness of applicant countries.

Dr Fenech Adami is expected back to Malta on Sunday afternoon.