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Kurt Sansone
The EU Constitution should be ratified in Parliament by simple majority just like any other treaty and the Opposition should vote in favour according to the Labour Party’s international secretary Joe Mifsud.
Talking to MaltaToday Mifsud believes the EU Constitution is of no threat to Malta’s neutrality and expects all Labour MPs to vote according to what the party’s general conference decides in June.
Taking umbrage at comments made by former Labour prime minister Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici that Labour MPs would be traitors if they voted in favour of the EU Constitution, Mifsud describes the former Labour leader’s ideas as fundamentalist.
“Diversity of opinion in the MLP is important because it will lead to the best possible decision. Everybody has their own ideas, but we should respect each other. Just because ideas differ nobody has a right to call anybody a traitor,” Mifsud tells MaltaToday with reference to comments made by Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici in l-orizzont this week.
Mifsud adds: “The issue concerns law, and different interpretations are possible. The party cannot sit on a decision that needs to be taken and any decision has to address the national interest. Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici is a friend of mine, someone I fully respect and who holds genuine beliefs. But sometimes, for him, only black or white exist with no grey in between.
“I just hope Karmenu does not say I am a traitor because I am probably one of the few who have read the EU Constitutional Treaty and after consulting others in Europe and constitutional lawyers I have no problem to endorse this Treaty as it is.”
Mifsud concedes the Constitutional Treaty is not perfect but insists it is a vast improvement on the Nice Treaty and brings together the various treaties setting up the EU to which Malta is already a party by virtue of membership in the Union.
He argues the EU Constitution is just a rule book that outlines the different areas of competence within the structure and hence sees no conflict with the Maltese Constitution.
“After reading the reports drawn up by George Vella, Joe Brincat and Paul Lia, and given my knowledge on legal matters - in my conscience I feel that if I were a Member of Parliament I would find no objection to ratifying this Constitutional Treaty and I don’t feel it is in conflict with the Maltese Constitution,” Mifsud says.
The Labour official does not believe that the creation of an EU army as outlined in the EU Constitutional Treaty is in breach of the Maltese Constitution.
“Having it written on paper does not on its own constitute a violation of our Constitution. If on the other hand, the Maltese Government decides to participate in such a military arrangement then the Maltese Constitution risks being violated. It is up to the Maltese government to determine whether to participate in military arrangements or not.
“I do have certain reservations about some aspects of the EU Treaty but it does not mean that the Labour Party should reject the whole Constitution,” Mifsud says.
The International Secretary believes the EU Constitution is of no threat to Malta’s neutrality, a major stickling point for Labourites in general.
He points out Malta’s position is not unique in the EU, citing Sweden and Austria as examples of neutral countries. But Mifsud also suggests opening a wider debate on the meaning of neutrality in view of changed world circumstances.
“One may argue the neutrality of Sweden and others is not similar to ours, but even here I believe we have to open a discussion on the topic. Neutrality in current circumstances is not how we understood it to mean when the Constitution was amended in the late eighties. Once neutrality is part of the Constitution and there is no wide agreement to amend it we have to abide by what is law. But in today’s circumstances does our neutrality prevent us from engaging in the fight against terrorism?
“Should we allow our island to be used for money laundering by terrorist organisations? I believe we should take action even with other countries if need be against such deeds; and that will not be in breech of neutrality.
“Let’s take another scenario: the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. If the EU decides to send a peacekeeping force, will Malta be breaching its neutrality by participating in such a force to bring peace between two countries that have decided to co-operate?”
Mifsud emphasises the sovereignty of the individual EU member states and cites the Iraq war as an example of different countries deciding for themselves what course of action to take.
“I did not agree with military intervention in Iraq because it went against international law and was not authorised by the United Nations. There were European Union countries such as Britain that participated in the war and others that chose not to go to war such as France and Germany. This goes to show that despite being a member state we can choose which missions to participate in. The EU Treaty gives us the chance not to obstruct the organisation but still choose to participate in a different way.
“My boundary for participating in any action against a third country is that provided by the UN Security Council. Libya was a friendly country but when the UN imposed sanctions we abided by them because we are part of a club.”
Mifsud points out that on such sensitive issues every member state has the right to exercise its veto. “It will all depend on how willing government would be to use such a tool if the need arises,” he says.
As regards the supremacy of EU laws, another contentious issue for Euro sceptics, Mifsud says the Union only has competency in those areas where competence has been granted to it by the member states. By virtue of Malta’s membership to the bloc, Mifsud argues, the country has already decided to grant the EU competence and supremacy in those areas.
“The EU Constitution is simply setting down in writing a common rule book. If it is not approved the Union will be run according to what had been agreed in Nice with all its imperfections and the difficulty it will create in managing an enlarged bloc of 25,” he says.
A critical argument often floated about by various Labour Party exponents prior to the 2003 general election was the lack of a clause that granted member states the right to withdraw from the EU if they deemed fit.
“The Constitutional Treaty corrects this situation by including an exit clause and Mifsud sees this as another sign of the sovereignty enjoyed by the individual member states.
“Let me make it clear, exiting the EU is not on the Labour Party’s agenda. The country took its decision on that issue in 2003 and a future Labour government will be working for a positive EU experience.
“But the exit clause is confirmation of the sovereignty enjoyed by the EU’s member states because it allows member states to exercise their right to leave the union. The bloc is not a federal state and I would not like it to become a federation.”
Mifsud believes the EU Constitution should be ratified in Parliament like any other treaty; by simple majority.
“Even if more than two thirds of MPs vote for ratification it does not mean the treaty becomes entrenched in the Constitution. The European Convention for Human Rights passed by simple majority and it is part of our laws,” he says.
Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici’s lingering anti-EU sentiments may alienate a sizeable section of the Labour Party’s core vote, but Mifsud is adamant the EU should not be an electoral issue in the next general election.
“I expect that any decision taken by the general conference will be reflected by our MPs. EU membership has been decided and people today are more interested in the problems they are facing such as joblessness, a sluggish economy and rising cost of living rather than academic debates on the EU Constitution. I expect Karmenu as a delegate to endorse the final decision taken by the general conference so that the party can move on.”
kurt@newsworksltd.com
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