ADPD calls for debate on Malta's security and defence

ADPD-The Green Party has called for a serious national debate on Malta's security and defence policy, raising concerns about the country's associate membership of the Nato Parliamentary Assembly and what the party describes as a growing blurring of lines between the European Union and the military alliance.

Speaking at a press conference held near the End of Cold War Memorial in Birżebbuġa, to mark Freedom Day, ADPD Deputy Chairperson Carmel Cacopardo said the day should be a unifying national occasion.

"Every achievement attained by our country should make us proud," Cacopardo said. "The closure of the British military base is one of these achievements. Its relevance is reflected in Article 1 of the Constitution, whereby neutrality is linked to the prohibition of hosting a military base in the country."

Freedom Day marks the closure of British military bases in Malta, an event enshrined in the country's constitution through its provisions on neutrality. Cacopardo said the day carried significance not only historically but in light of the current geopolitical situation, adding that it was unfortunate that, like Independence Day, the commemoration tended to take on a partisan character rather than a genuinely national one.

He raised the question of Malta's associate membership of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, a decision he said parliament approved in approximately 30 months ago, in 69 seconds of parliamentary time. "An important decision such as this demands more than 69 seconds of consideration," Cacopardo said, adding that both the Labour Party and the Nationalist Party had attempted to keep the decision out of public view.

The party maintains that the membership goes against Article 1 of the Maltese Constitution.

ADPD Chairperson Sandra Gauci focused on the European Union's shifting orientation, noting that the bloc had originally been conceived as a peace project but had seen a significant increase in its focus on defence spending over the years. Of the 27 EU member states, only four are not members of Nato: Malta, Austria, Ireland and Cyprus.

Gauci said that during the campaign for the European Parliament elections two years ago, EU defence had been a prominent theme, and that following the elections a Commissioner with a specific defence portfolio had been appointed. She said the Russian invasion of Ukraine had placed considerable responsibilities on Eastern Europe and was shaping the direction of EU policy in ways that complicated Malta's neutral status.

"Sometimes when one analyses the language used, one realises that it is not always easy to distinguish between the European Union and Nato," Gauci said, maintaining that the associate membership of the Nato Parliamentary Assembly was sending the wrong message, contrary to both the spirit and the letter of Malta's constitutional neutrality.

Both speakers called for a substantive public discussion on national defence and security, describing the current situation as one in which meaningful debate had been practically non-existent.