News • 1 June 2003

EU law specialist shocked by Parliamentary Secretary’s statements

The refusal of the government to allow the MV Doulos to sell books in Malta’s waters has become a cause celebre, and people still cannot fully understand the Parliamentary Secretary Edwin Vassallo’s attitude and that of the GRTU.

The union remains against the sale of books, but two of Malta’s biggest booksellers Sapienza’s bookshop and Miller Distributors have publicly declared they would support the sale of books from the Doulos, or at least they are not against the idea.

Vassallo’s opposition seems to be based on the laws regulating trade in Malta and the fact that the Doulos has no licence from Malta, but these laws are routinely sidelined when people buy books via the post or now, much more commonly, via the internet.

Speaking to MaltaToday, EU law specialist Joanna Drake said she was shocked by statements made by Parliamentary Secretary Edwin Vassallo. She said some of his statements "reeked of the protectionist mentality." Drake said she was "surprised that nobody, perhaps not even the EU Delegation has sent a clipping about what was being said about the Doulos to the EU Commission."

"I find it hard to stomach the attitude of the GRTU, which supported EU membership, but has now shown a different face. Everyone should enjoy the same playing field. The attitude of some of the authorities appears to be anti-foreigners."

Drake said she would accept that if the Doulos provided a threat to Malta’s security, or threatened the lives of animals for example there would clearly be a reason for restricting Doulos’s activities, "but we are clearly sending out the wrong messages to the world, and Malta in not being put in a good light."