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| The Maltese Left Review |
| A Review of Contemporary Maltese Issues from a Left of Centre Perspective * EU membership **Economic Development ***Environmental Action *Malta's Nationalist Administration is actively pursuing membership of the European Union. The Malta Labour Party, which refuses to participate in the current negotiations with the EU, froze Malta's application to join the EU whilst in government between 1996 to 1998, resolutely opposes Maltese membership in the EU, pushing forward instead the concept of a 'partnership' with the European bloc. (Up to date information on where Malta stands in the negotiations may be found at the Malta-EU Information Centre website: http://www.mic.org.mt) Maltese Labour Party speakers have accused the government and public institutions (such as the State-controlled Public Broadcasting Services corporation and the Malta-EU Information Centre) of blatant bias in favour of the membership campaign, at the expense of the Labour standpoint, as well as groups which actively oppose membership (e.g. the Campaign for National Independence). Key Labour speakers support the idea of a Maltese 'Switzerland in the Mediterranean' or 'partnership' short of membership with the EU by arguing that the small island nation is a special case, and that the disadvantages of membership outweight the potential benefit. The Maltese Left Review seeks to launch a debate on this central issue, by asking the following questions: Is the argument regarding the Maltese 'special case' a cogently structured one? What are the intellectual and practical considerations which underpin it? Is the Malta Labour Party adopting a right of centre approach in blocking Malta's bid to achieve full membership in the EU? How should Maltese citizens with left of centre principles who favour EU membership proceed? |
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| MALTA FACTS IN BRIEF Official title: Republic of Malta Constitution: Republican since 13 December 1974 Military Affiliations: None; Constitutionally Neutral and Non-Aligned Form of government: parliamentary democracy with executive, legislative and judiciary branches of government Area: 320 square kilometres, including the islands of Gozo and Comino Population: 395,000 (est. 2002) Religion: Roman Catholic (95%) Languages: Maltese (National Language) and English Economy: GDP ca. $3.2 billion (2001) tourism; electronics; ship repairs; financial services; agriculture 3% Applied in 1990 to join the European Economic Community, now the EU; application shelved by the newly-elected MLP government in 1996, and reactivated by the present PN government in 1998 The Maltese political arena is dominated by two major political parties, namely the Nationalist Party and the Malta Labour Party. These two rival establishments, which have taken turns to govern Malta from British colonial times, are today core elements of the Maltese institutional set up and claim the lion's share of the islands' public energies. A third party, Alternattiva Demokratika - The Green Party, has to date enjoyed limited political success, not least because of the duopoly enjoyed by the two major political blocs, which also run highly successful media organizations. Maltese Political Party Websites: http://www.mlp.org.mt http://www.pn.org.mt http://www.alternattiva.org.mt |
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| **Malta's $3.2 billion economy is a major fact about a country which, forty years ago, was still a grossly underdeveloped British Crown Colony, a fortress possession dependent on British military spending. This transformation is due not least to the country's 140 thousand workforce (est 2000), which is often not at all optimized. The island's reactivation of the bid to join the EU has failed to attract the much-needed foreign direct investment, and the current economic data suggest that the global slow down is taking its toll on the tiny economy. How can the island's market based economy be consolidated and strengthened in the age of globalization? |