A report by the European
Parliament says that Malta has met the preconditions for inclusion
in the first round of EU enlargement.
Quoted in the Malta Business Journal, the report calls for negotiations
between the EU and Malta to be completed by the end of 2001 in
as efficient a manner as possible. It also says that the EU Intergovernmental
Conference has a key role to play by pushing reforms to ensure
that the EU will be in a position by 2002 to admit the first wave
of applicant countries.
The report includes a recommendation that structural assistance for Malta provided for in the pre-accession period 'should provide results visible to the people of Malta in order to reduce the economic disparities between the EU and Malta.'
The European Parliament indicated that it supports 'all efforts by the various European institutions to enter into a constructive dialogue with all constituent corporate bodies and social strata in Malta in order to ensure the continuity of the accession process,' but expressed its concern that the government and its opposition clash in their assessments of Malta's accession to the EU.'
The report praises Malta for its problem-free attitude to the respect of fundamental human rights and liberty. And it confirms that Malta has a stable market economy, with all necessary signs in place (industrial restructuring for example) to ensure that it can withstand competition and EU market forces.
The European Parliament welcomes Malta's initiatives to reduce its national debt, and in particular its taxation policy. According to the Malta Business Weekly the pre-accession strategy provides a total of Euro 38m for Malta in the period 2000-2004. In addition Malta can obtain loans from the European Investment Bank and participate in Interreg cooperation. The European Parliament noted that Malta has not joined in any Interreg projects, but it could now take part in mutually advantageous cooperation, for instance with Sicily in the field of waste management.
The report will now be taken into consideration during a vote at the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC) of the European Parliament. As long as Malta has met the preconditions in the report, which it appears to have done, the FAC will vote in favour of Malta's inclusion in the first round of enlargement.
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