Malta finally arrives at the European Union negotiating table
by Anthony Manduca
Malta and the European Union finally opened membership negotiations on Tuesday, 30 years after the two sides signed an Association Agreement in 1970. Malta is the only country in Europe to have first applied for EU membership, then put this application on hold six years later and then reactivate the application a mere two years later. This was described by the then EU External Affairs Commissioner, Hans van den Broeck, as a "switch off, switch on" policy during a speech he made at the European Parliament in 1998.
Here are the main highlights in the 30-year relationship between Malta and the European Union:
Malta and the EEC signed an Association Agreement in 1970. This was meant to lead to the complete removal of duty on imports from Europe. Malta gets duty free access for its exports to Europe, except for agriculture.
The 1971-1987 Labour administrations did not remove duty on imports from Europe and relations between the two sides did not go any further. However, during this period two financial protocols were signed between Malta and the EU in which Malta was given ECU26m (1978-1983) and ECU29.5m (1986-1988).
Change in government in May 1987. Nationalist administration elected on a platform to join the EU.
Third financial protocol signed in 1989 which Malta is given ECU38m (1989-1993).
July 1990: Malta officially applies to join the EU.
Malta not included in the 1995 EU enlargement phase which saw Austria, Sweden and Finland join the bloc. Mr van den Broeck later says that Malta was not ready to join in 1995. Hopes of Malta entering the EU by end of the decade dashed by fall of Communism and focus on the east.
EU summit in Cannes in June 1995 pledges that official membership negotiations with Malta and Cyprus will start six months after completion of EU Inter-governmental conference.
October 1996: Change in government after Labour victory. Malta's EU application frozen. New government only wants free-trade zone.
December 1997: Malta misses out on official membership negotiations that start between EU and Cyprus, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Estonia.
September 1998: Change in government. New Nationalist administration reactivates Malta's EU application under the Austrian EU presidency.
April 1999: Screening process begins in Brussels in which EU law and Malta's laws are compared to see what amendments should be made by Malta. Screening process ends in January 2000.
December 1999: At the Helsinki EU summit the go-ahead is given to the EU Commission to open official membership negotiations with Malta, Latvia, Lithuania, Rumania, Bulgaria and Slovakia. The EU summit also pledges to conclude the bloc's institutional reform by the end of 2000 and to be in a position to start accepting new EU members by the beginning of 2003.
15 February 2000: Formal membership negotiations between the EU and Malta, as well as the other five new candidate countries, begin in a ceremony in Brussels. Foreign Minister Joe Borg says he expects the negotiations to be completed by the end of 2001 under the Swedish presidency.
March 2000: Actual membership negotiations on a technical level start between the two sides. The bulk of the acquis communautaire's chapters are expected to be opened for negotiations this year under the Portuguese and French presidency.
2002: Referendum to be held on Malta's membership of the European Union.
The Maltese government is expecting to be included in the next EU enlargement phase. This could take place anytime between 2003 and 2006. However, most observers believe that 2004 is the most realistic date.
According to Tuesday's Financial Times, Malta and Latvia are widely viewed as the most promising candidates for early entry into the EU.
The government has made it clear that it will have implemented most EU laws by 2003. In certain areas, such as state aid to shipbuilding and ship repair, for example, the government has asked for a transition period beyond 2003.
The areas most likely to cause problems for Malta as it prepares to join the EU are agriculture, telecommunications, the environment, energy and State aid to industry.
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