|
Lack of consensus a major obstacle in Malta’s bid for
EU membership
by Ivan Brincat
The lack of political consensus in Malta has been deemed to
be the major obstacle which has to be overcome before Malta
can join the European Union, European Economic and Social Committee
report by Kenneth Walker states.
Unless and until such a consensus is seen to be in place, and
to have credible prospects of being sustainable, there must
always be a question mark over the country’s readiness
for membership.
The report said the Nationalist Party plans to hold a referendum
on membership when the accession negotiations have been completed
and, in any case, prior to the next parliamentary elections
which are due in January 2004 at the latest.
The Labour Party has declared that, if it is returned to power
at these elections, it will withdraw Malta’s application
for membership, regardless of the outcome of the referendum.
The latest opinion polls show that the numbers in favour of
immediate EU entry and those opposing it are almost equally
balanced, with a substantial proportion undecided.
The report said that Malta currently fulfils all the Maastricht
criteria except that of its annual budget deficit. However,
the accumulated government debt is around 59 per cent of GDP.
While this is within the Maastricht criterion of 60 per cent,
and below that of several member states, it is on a rising trend
which, if sustained, would take it above the reference level
prior to the target accession date.
Malta’s GDP in purchasing power parities is 52 per cent
of the EU average.
The report said the principal economic activities are electronics,
shipping, shipyards and tourism. Agriculture accounts for only
2.5 per cent of GDP and the agricultural industry is highly
fragmented. It noted that the Maltese economy is dominated by
micro-businesses, with 95 per cent of enterprises employing
fewer than 10 people.
The Malta-EU Steering and Action Committee (MEUSAC) was formed
with the objective of improving the transparency of the negotiation
process by including all interested sectors. Some of the bodies
consulted by MEUSAC complain that there is not always sufficient
time allowed for discussion to enable them to consult their
members.
The report noted the requests for transition periods and the
successes so far but there are some areas of potential difficulty
which will have to be resolved during the negotiating process.
There are in Malta some restrictions on the purchase of real
estate in Malta by foreign nationals. It said there was a need
to strengthen the administrative capacity to enforce intellectual
property rights, that is police, customs and out-of-court settlement
problems.
It said that in order to comply with EU competition policy,
Malta faces two years of further legislative approximation,
rigorous restructuring and increased liberalisation and privatisation
In the Fisheries area, the NPAA identified problems with the
15 per cent customs tariff applied to exported fish and the
need to continue to maintain the fisheries conservation zone
within 25 nautical miles to conserve stocks.
The report also confirmed that the cost of meeting the environmental
acquis is around five per cent of Malta’s GDP. Problem
areas include waste management and the availability, quality
and cost of water supply.
The ESC believes the agricul-tural acquis is expected to create
problems. The question of Malta’s protective tariffs for
agricultural products will be one issue, another will be competition
from the EU for Malta’s fragmented and relatively inefficient
agricultural industry.
The report said that certain
sectors of the Maltese economy will be heavily impacted by EU
membership.
Tourism is one of the major industries in Malta but its development
will be hampered by the lack of space, facilities and resources.
The industry is also concerned about some aspects of Community
employment legislation.
Shipyards and ship-building are an important, but loss-making,
part of the Maltese economy. There is a need for a restructuring
programme and sensitive negotiation on how subsidies are to
be phased out.
Controversially, the report said that bird hunting is a popular
sport in Malta, with some 15,000 adherents. They are concerned
that EU legislation will curtail or even abolish their sport
and are unlikely to vote in favour of accession unless a satisfactory
compromise can be achieved.
The report also notes that the island of Gozo suffers from the
problem of double insularity and its inhabitants perceive a
need for assistance from the EU on the most favourable terms
possible.
It notes that compliance with the European Monetary Union acquis
will be conditional on the completion of the process of liberalisation
in capital movements.
The Committee said it believed that the ISPA programme of pre-accession
funds should be extended to cover Malta. It said that consideration
should be given to extending eligibility for ISPA funding, both
on a pre-accession and post-accession basis, to Malta.
In its conclusion, the ESC said that it is generally accepted
in Malta that regardless of the question of EU membership, significant
structural reforms need to be implemented to enable Maltese
society to adapt itself to a changing world in order to be able
to compete in an increasingly globalised economy.
However, there are those who believe that the government’s
pre-set timetable for accession is too frenetic and that it
would be preferable to proceed at a more measured rate but there
can be no doubt that the prospect of EU membership is acting
as a catalyst for change and it is questionable whether, without
this stimulus, the necessary reforms would, in fact, take place.
The ESC said the government was succeeding at present in transposing
considerable portions of the acquis at a remarkable rate. It
said the government was clearly determined to complete the process
of adopting the acquis within the established deadline.
However, there is a need for capacity building within the public
sector infrastructure. It will take time to create the organisation
needed to give effect to the mass of new legislation required
for adoption of the acquis and to ensure an adequate level of
enforcement.
The report said there is a tend-ency for those who are opposed
to EU entry to castigate information programmes initiated by
the government with EU assistance as propaganda. However, many
respondents have indicated that there is a general lack of understanding
among the Maltese people of the issues involved.
Given the far-reaching consequences of the decision which has
to be taken, it is obviously desirable that, when they come
to exercise their vote in the referendum, people should be fully
informed of the issues involved.
The report said that to date, Malta has requested some derogations
and has asked for a number of transitional periods. Some industrialists
feel that the transition periods requested are not sufficiently
numerous or lengthy.
On the other hand, the number of transition periods requested
is among the highest of all the
candidate countries to date. This in part reflects the problems
posed by Malta’s island status and the need to present
an attractive package to the Maltese people.
The report concludes that Malta’s negotiators will have
to identify, at an early stage, what the fall-back position
will be if their negotiating stance on key elements is not acceptable
to the EU. While, it is generally accepted in Malta that an
application to join the EU implies a commitment to adopt the
acquis communautaire and that there can be no question of an
“a la carte” Europe, there is a belief that it is
unreasonable to refuse to extend to the applicant countries
derogations and transition periods which are currently being
enjoyed by existing member States or to expect that the standard
of enforcement in the accession countries should be higher than
in the present Union.
|
