1 - 7 June 2000

Foreign minister says EU unlikely to publish position on closed chapters

by Franco Aloisio

Foreign Minister Joe Borg said it is very unlikely that the European Union will publish its position on the seven chapters of the acquis communautaire which were negotiated and concluded with Malta last week.

Dr Borg told The Malta Business Weekly that in reply to the opposition's request for the government to publish all the details on the negotiated chapters, the Maltese government could only make public its own position on these chapters. The position papers on the seven chapters were tabled in Parliament this week.

He said the common position, that is, what has been agreed upon between the two sides, has to be made public by the EU, and not by Malta.

"With regards to the common position, it is up to the European Commission to make public. However, it is very unlikely that the EU will, at this stage, state what is its final position on these chapters," Dr Borg said.

He continued explaining: "The EU does not usually release details on the content of the negotiated chapters. It is only at the end of the negotiations that the European Commission publishes the agreed-upon chapters."

Sources at the Foreign Ministry said the EU's reply on the Maltese position papers on each chapter is not that different from the stand taken by the government. This is mainly because of the fact that the chapters concluded so far - industrial policy, small- and medium- sized undertakings, science and research, education and training, telecommunications and information technologies, external relations and the common foreign and security policy - are considered "easy" chapters.

The "tougher" and more controversial chapters are expected be opened in the coming months, probably under the French presidency of the EU.

In its position papers on the first seven chapters, the Maltese negotiating team stated that the country will be able to adhere to the EU acquis communautaire as from 1 January 2003. No transitional period or derogation was requested by the negotiating team.