Abela takes aim at EU after farmers’ protest, slams double-standards on Gaza war

Prime Minister Robert Abela delivered a defiant stance against the European Union in his post-summit ministerial statement on Tuesday, criticising Brussels for drafting “perverse” legislations that he deemed out of touch with public concerns.

Abela briefed parliament on last week’s special European Council meeting, where leaders discussed support for Ukraine, the situation in the Middle east, and challenges in the agricultural sector following a farmers’ strike in Brussels.

Abela was critical of the EU in his speech, insisting that European bureaucrats were making insensitive decisions from the comfort of their Brussels offices without understanding the impact of directives and regulations on people and the economy.

“The streets of Brussels were dominated by farmers protesting European regulations drafted by institutions that are being accused, and sometimes I think rightly so, of being cut off from citizens and reality.”

Abela acknowledged a parallel farmers’ protest organised in Malta a day after the Council meeting, mentioning that he used the opportunity to meet with farmers directly. “I spoke with farmers because I believe it is important to hear what’s bothering them. Even if their issues are more tied to regulations drafted by the European Commission.”

The prime minister took issue with EU regulations on the maritime and transport sector, claiming that European institutions are often “more interested in what looks good on paper than what makes sense”.

“Oftentimes we end up with perverse legislation that has to be challenged in court,” he said.

Abela also called out the EU’s handling of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, contrasting it to the response to the Ukraine-Russia war.

“Contrary to the situation in Ukraine, where we adopted conclusions at almost every Council meeting and consistently spoke out on what was happening, when it comes to the Middle East, the Council hasn’t pronounced itself since October,” he said.

“It’s as if the humanitarian situation in Gaza does not interest us. I was very clear on this during the Council meeting.”

Abela also said the EU has the appropriate tools to take action in the Gaza conflict. “It’s a question of will; of willingness from all European institutions. More needs to be done with regard to the humanitarian situation in the Middle East and Gaza.”

In his ministerial response, Opposition leader Bernard Grech questioned whether Abela’s tone is consistent with that used when speaking with other EU leaders at Council meetings.

“Where was this government when these laws were being drafted at EU level? Was this government attacking EU institutions while boasting of making strong EU-funded investments?” he said.

Grech accused Abela of oversimplifying the challenges faced by Maltese farmers as solely the result of EU shortcomings, suggesting that this might not be the case.

PN MP Beppe Fenech Adami said he was disgusted by the way Abela made his ministerial statement. He highlighted discrepancies between the government’s rhetoric of listening to farmers and its subsidies for frozen food imports under the price stability scheme Stabbiltà.

Fenech Adami, like Grech, also accused Abela of adopting different tones in Brussels versus local ministerial statements.

“You shouldn’t be using the post-summit statement as a partisan tool to score political points,” he said.

Tensions escalated during Abela’s counter-statement, where he sought to discredit the Nationalist Party on agriculture by alleging that the lawyer representing Grech and his party was also involved in evicting farmers from their land.

Additionally, Abela argued that certain actions at EU-level inadvertently lent credibility to Israel’s response to Hamas in Gaza after the October 7 attack in southern Israel. Grech felt this was an insinuation that a visit to Israel by European Parliament president Roberta Metsola, who is also a Nationalist MEP, gave Israel justification for its actions in Gaza.