Malta will not obstruct European defence policy but will be mindful of constitutional constraints

Malta will not be obstructing any European defence policy despite Labour MEPs recently voting against the European Defence Union Report, according to foreign affairs minister George Vella. 

Vella was speaking at a joint press conference with his Romanian counterpart, Lazar Comanescu, where he was asked the government's position on the defence policy.

"We will not be obstructing it in any way but we are insisting that we must be seen as a neutral country. At the same time we are appealing for, and have been reassured that any decisions taken as far as defence is concerned, will take into consideration constraints of each member state. We can only go as far the our constitution allows us," Vella said.

The minister said that the visit was a routine one, in that there have been many such visits over the past weeks. He said the discussion centre around the Maltese presidency as well as ways of improving bilateral relations between the two countries.

During the meeting, the two ministers signed a Memorandum of Understanding for more cooperation between diplomatic studies institutes of the two countries.

Romanian foreign minister Lazar Comanescu said that Romania was offering its full support to the Maltese presidency (File photo)

The two ministers also discussed ways of improving cooperation between the two countries in the areas of tourism and the economy.

"It is important for us to improve relations especially since there are a number of local enterprises with interests in Romania," Vella said.

He said that the meeting follows a number of visits to European member states that took place this week, where Malta visited "not as Malta, but as the future presidency of the EU".

"The idea was not to argue for or against any point, but rather to understand everyone's position for when we must bring countries together to negotiate on topics where there are differing views," the minister said.

Vella commended Romania for taking in its share of refugees despite not being in the mainstream of migrant flow, adding that if all countries had acted in the same way, the effects of the refugee crisis would have been significantly less.

Comanescu said that the visit was a timely one and came at a point of good relations between the two countries, adding that he was happy to discuss a number of presidency goals such as security, migration, and the single market with his Maltese counterpart.

Comanescu said that Romania was offering its full support to the Maltese presidency and that the country was in agreement with the set goals.

"We will be strong supporters, and proactive supporters to make the Maltese agenda work," he said.

The Romanian foreign minister also emphasised his desire for even more cooperation between the two countries, especially in matter of tourism and the economy.

He thanked local authorities for their efforts to integrate the sizable Romanian population in Malta, adding that the country was very grateful for this.