News • 08 December 2002

Evasive Sant in hide and seek game

By Kurt Sansone

G’Mangia – Labour leader Alfred Sant played hide and seek with the truth when he said that the partnership agreement Iceland, Norway and Switzerland have with the European Union excludes agriculture and fisheries.

On Thursday during the press conference televised on TVM, as part of the Broadcasting Authority political broadcasts, Labour leader Alfred Sant evaded answering a question put to him by MaltaToday on what obligations the country would have to undertake under a partnership agreement.

When a MaltaToday journalist pointed out that free trade in agricultural products was an integral part of the partnership agreement benefiting Iceland, Norway and Switzerland, Dr Sant insisted that this was not true. The Labour leader also tried to insinuate that the journalist was misleading viewers.

Dr Sant maintained that a partnership agreement crafted by a Labour government would exclude agriculture.

But Chapter Two of the European Economic Area agreement, which binds Iceland, Norway and the tiny principality of Liechtenstein explicitly states that the contracting parties are obliged to ensure free movement of goods, which also includes agricultural products.

Agri-trade and liberalisation

The few restrictions that apply on agriculture are subjected to a clause in Article 19, which states: "The contracting parties undertake to continue their efforts with a view to achieving progressive liberalisation of agricultural trade."

This is the same phraseology used in the joint declaration signed between then British Foreign Minister Robin Cook and former Labour Foreign Minister George Vella in 1998. The declaration, which was never made officially public by the Labour government, said that agricultural trade had to be "progressively liberalised."

Furthermore, the EEA agreement stipulates that every two years the contracting parties undertake to review "the conditions of trade in agricultural products."

Clause four of article 19 elaborates that the main aim of these biennial reviews is to achieve "further reductions of any type of barrier to trade in the agricultural sector, including those resulting from State monopolies of a commercial character in the agricultural field."

Free movement of workers

On Thursday Dr Sant acknowledged that any form of arrangement with the EU carries with it a number of obligations. However, he could not be specific on what obligations Malta would have to undertake.

Dr Sant kept insisting that he could achieve a different deal from that obtained by Iceland, Norway and Switzerland even though the agreements these three countries have are very similar to each other.

When it was pointed out that EU workers and self-employed could work in Iceland, Norway and Switzerland by virtue of the partnership agreements reached, Dr Sant kept insisting that he could reach a different deal.

The Labour leader explained that it was in the interest of the three countries to have free movement of workers and self-employed, even though it was pointed out to him by MaltaToday that Iceland is an island on the periphery and with a population less than Malta’s.

Switzerland had to accept the introduction of free movement of workers as part of its EU deal in June this year.

The same argument applies for State aid to industry. Under the arrangement the three non-EU countries have with the block, State aid is deemed to be incompatible with the agreements.

Article 61 of the EEA states: "Any aid granted by EC Member States, EFTA States or through State resources in any form whatsoever which distorts or threatens to distort competition by favouring certain undertakings or the production of certain goods shall, in so far as it affects trade between Contracting Parties, be incompatible with the functioning of this Agreement."