Following the closure on Saturday morning of the EU summit, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said that the EU had finally reached the desired agreement and that Malta has managed also to safeguard its interests. As a result of this agreement, Malta will be allocated a sixth MEP as from the next European Parliament election in mid-2009,
The Sunday Times of Malta reported.
This brings Malta on an equal footing with Luxembourg. Malta has also managed to keep the same vote weighting at EU Council level as originally agreed in the defunct EU constitution. Malta has also obtained a technical definition of its status as an island member state, which will make a difference when the EU is allocating its funding,
The Times added.
On the whole, the agreement, headed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, will differ from the former due to the fact that the 'reformed treaty' will be ratified without the need to put the new text to a referendum. The final text will now have to be agreed by a new intergovernmental conference (IGC) to be convened under the upcoming Portuguese Presidency in July. EU leaders however agreed that the new IGC will be short and focused around the mandate agreed on Saturday. The intention is that at the end of the Portuguese Presidency, next December, the new treaty will be signed by all the 27 member states and ratified individually by all national parliaments by mid-2009 when it enters into force.
Although Malta had ratified the draft constitutional treaty, locally marking a first unanimous vote on the EU, the Maltese Parliament will have to repeat the process as this is considered as a new treaty.
Source: The Sunday Times of Malta
