Malta, 24/10/2000 (Agence Europe) - The head of the European Commission delegation in Malta is "convinced Malta will be ready to join the European Union on the date set, 1 January 2003". On the fringe of the conference organised on Friday in Malta by the Committee of the Regions and the association of local Maltese enlargement authorities, Giorgio Boggio stressed that Malta, like Cyprus, is "at the forefront of the enlargement process, as it meets the political and economic criteria for accession, and by its capacity, if it continues restructuring, to compete with the EU markets". The next report on Malta's preparation, to be adopted by the Commission on 8 November, will mark the good situation of Malta, he stressed. The head of the Commission delegation expressed optimism about combating the very serious public deficit. The report from Brussels should, however, point to the delays in implementation o the acquis communautaire regarding the environment, agriculture and regional policy. The subsidy regime in some sectors, mainly shipbuilding, also remains a problem.
Malta's state of progress compared to the candidate countries of Central and Eastern Europe is stressed by the Maltese authorities. The chief negotiator on Malta's accession, Richard Cachia Caruana, recalled that the screening process was far more rapid than for most of the other candidate countries. As far as implementation of acquis is concerned, "it is for us a matter, in most cases, of updating more than adopting new structures".
This claim that Malta's situation is different is nonetheless accompanied by the fear that Malta's accession will be delayed by the EU while it waits for the other countries, mainly Poland, to also be ready. "The official EU policy is differentiation between candidates according to merit", recalled Austin Gatt, Minister of Justice and Local Government, as if to persuade himself. He added, however: "There are sometimes differences between the official position and reality". Malta, stresses the minister, does not focus on such considerations but on its work, in order to be ready to join the EU by its "target date" of 1 January 2003, and "is waiting for the Commission and the Union to do everything necessary for this aim to be reached".
At internal level in Malta, the national party in power is in favour of membership but the Labour Party remains opposed and advocates a simple customs union, as a representative of the workers' party recalled during the conference. Malta, he said, "is not in the same situation as the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, which are democracies in the making, and which need structures on which to build their democracy and their economy". In 1996, when it came to power, the Labour Party had withdrawn Malta's candidature. The next legislative elections are scheduled for Malta end 2003. The chief Maltese negotiator recognises that this opposition complicates the process, and the Commission's representative in Malta "does not venture to make a prognostic" on the outcome of the referendum to be organised in Malta before accession. Negotiations, however, are continuing on the basis of certain accession.