News • 3 August 2003

Falzon to contest European elections as others line up for Nationalist Party list

The race is on for European Parliamentary seats and in the coming months one can expect the announcement of several intending to contest.
Among the first off the starting block is former Nationalist minister Michael Falzon, who told MaltaToday of his intentions to contest.
Falzon was minister for development and infrastructure in 1987 and became minister for the environment in 1992. In March of 1994 he was appointed minister for education and human resources.
He was elected to parliament in 1981, 1987 and 1992. He last contested the elections in 1998, but was not elected. Falzon was editor of the newspaper The Democrat and was also a director of the newspaper The People. He is currently chairman of the Water Services Corporation.
Michael Falzon is well-remembered for having pioneered the Planning Authority now MEPA, moving Malta’s almost non-existent planning laws into the modern era.
Falzon is less remembered for his offer to swim in Balluta Bay to prove that it was safe for swimming.
Among the other names earmarked as Euro candidates are: former finance minister and currently High Commissioner George Bonello du Puis, former MPs George Hyzler and Richard Muscat as well as NET journalist Karl Stagno Navarra and pro-EU campaigner David Casa. President of the Republic Guido de Marco has been named by maltastar.com as a possible Euro candidate, and although the suggestion was denied, de Marco has not made the shape of his expected future political involvement known.
The Euro seat is an attractive option for politicians whether they occupy a parliamentary seat or not, both from the point of view of prestige and for the attractive salary.
The European Parliament has just voted in favour of giving its members a common salary and other conditions on Thursday, ending the practice of paying them the same as members of the national assemblies in their home countries.
The EU PARLIAMENT statute must be unanimously approved by heads of state and government at their summit meeting in Vienna at the end of next week.
The decision is to give all members a monthly salary of 5,677 euros (Lm2,436) or a yearly salary of Lm29,322 which will mean a raise on the Maltese Parliamentarians salary of about Lm450 monthly. Euro Parliamentarians can also expect a number of perks.