6 - 12 July 2000

'I disagree with Sant's position and honestly told him so' - UK Minister

by Ivan Brincat

Keith Vaz, who repeatedly said the United Kingdom believed Malta's place is in the European Union, said he listened to Labour leader's Alfred Sant's views but "honestly told him that I disagree with his views".

Asked by The Malta Business Weekly what he thought of the MLP's position on the EU, Mr Vaz said that political parties had every right to have their own views and Malta was a democracy.

"A referendum is being held for people to decide. Dr Sant is perfectly entitled to his opinion and has every right to campaign in favour of that opinion. However, we believe that the future of Malta is in the EU, we also believe that the EU will benefit from Malta being a member."

Mr Vaz, however, said that his country had no role in the internal politics of the country. "What we have done as a government is to listen to the views even though we disagree with the MLP's position. In the morning, I tried to highlight all the benefits Britain gained from EU membership."

The meeting between Mr Vaz and Dr Sant was held in Parliament. During the meeting with Mr Vaz, Dr Sant said he wrote articles regularly in the English language media because "the English language media in Malta is all against us".

He explained that this was the second year in opposition mentioning the political situation in the country two years ago. "However, at the moment things are looking better. We have gained ground and now have a slight edge over the Nationalists in the polls," he said.

Dr Sant reiterated the MLP's position of creating an industrial free trade area with the EU and added the MLP wanted the best possible relations but not membership. "We believe that this is the best option for Malta, people are understanding our point and this will be a winner with people," he said.

Mr Vaz told Dr Sant said that Britain wanted Malta to form part of the EU as soon as possible, it is also Tony Blair's wish. But at the end it is up to the people to decide. He then asked why the MLP objected to the EU. Dr Sant said the acquis was not fit for Malta and added one of the main concerns was the free movement of labour. The meeting was then closed to the press.