The beginning

The origins of Malta-EU relations can be traced back to the late 1950's when Malta was still on its way to gaining full independence from Britain and the European Community had just been formed in 1957.

The future of an independent Maltese state in 1964 rested on the success of its economy. However the situation called for immediate action. A full economic re-structuring was needed, to make it much less dependent on Britain's' defence spending, and at the same time diversify to make it less dependent on trade with the former coloniser.

It is with this background that first steps towards establishing relations between Malta and the newly-formed European block were made.

The idea of forging such relations was introduced by the leader of the Malta Labour Party, Dom Mintoff, in 1958. He launched the idea of Malta being a "Switzerland in the Mediterranean" with strong ties to the European Community, an idea resurrected by the same party in recent years as an alternative to full membership advocated by the Nationalist Party to date.

The original European countries who agreed to co-operate on such matters as steel production, known as the European Communities, eventually came to be known as the European Economic Community (EEC), or Common Market.

In Malta the political debate on any form of relations with the EEC was slow to heat up. One of the reasons was that Britain itself was still not part of the block.

As soon as Britain launched its bid to join, the issue also came to the fore in Malta. In the meantime Malta became independent in 1964, and soon joined the Council of Europe and the United Nations, effectively taking its place among sovereign nations.

Association Agreement

Economics and trade seemed to be the major issue influencing the choices for Malta and the EEC. Malta began actively to seek the opening of negotiations with the EEC to conclude an agreement that would help accelerate its economic growth, in the face of decreasing British military presence and subsequent spending in Malta.

After the first exploratory talks were held with the European Commission in 1968, a delay of two years followed, with negotiations starting in 1970. They were quickly concluded and on December 5th Malta signed the Association Agreement with the European Economic Community. This came into effect on April 1st 1971.

The Nationalist administration that negotiated the agreement was very clear: "while full membership would, for the time being, be too great a burden on Malta, integration with Europe was the ultimate objective".

Strained relations

In 1976 the first Financial Protocol 1978-1983 was approved between Malta and the EEC worth ECU 26 million. Another two financial protocols followed.

However there was fundamental shift in policy. The Malta Labour Party Government that was turned to power in 1971 under Dom Mintoff did not consider the Association Agreement as the first step towards full membership, though it sought to widen the scope of the agreement. For the Labour administration, the Agreement was an economic tool, rather than a political statement.

In 1981 Malta asked the EEC for a new agreement that would lead to a "special relationship" with the EEC. Prime Minister Mintoff proposed a "closer union", based on the neutrality of Malta and wider commitment by the EEC in financial, economic and political matters.

However a dispute between Malta and the EEC over the exports of textiles to Britain strained relations. Intense negotiations brought both sides back together, but the delicate political situation in Malta after the controversial 1981 general elections was creating a rift between Malta and the EEC.

The latter was clearly unhappy with what it regarded as the eroding of democracy in Malta as a result of the style of leadership used by the Labourt administration. The EEC was not happy either with the Maltese pursuit of strengthening relations with Libya, the Arab world and other non-aligned countries.

Perhaps the EEC did not quite understand or accept that Malta was trying to have the best of both worlds, getting as much as it can from the West-East divide epitomised in the Cold War.

Formal application

It took 20 years before the next step towards integration would be made after the Nationalist Government's intention to eventually move on towards membership.

Malta formally applied to join the EEC in July 1990, under a different Nationalist Administration. The Nationalist Party had declared its intention to apply for membership "under the right conditions" in its electoral programme for the controversial 1981 election, which it had lost. It has to wait for the 1987 election to regain power and submit its bid for membership. This was in itself a major policy shift for Malta which until that time had not sought full membership.

The formal applications triggered as series of events that put Malta on the map of the next EU enlargements. While the European Economic Community ceased to exist and instead the European Union came into being, Malta started its long and sometimes thorny path towards accession.

The EU embassy was officially opened in Malta in 1991, and the first report, or 'avis' on the status of Malta in view of possible full EU membership compiled by the European Commission, was delivered in June 1993.

The avis said Malta met the political criteria for membership but still needed a lot of work to adopt the Acquis Communuataire, of EU body of legislation, in several other sectors.

In June 1994 the EU summit at Corfu declared that "the next phase of enlargement of the EU will involve Cyprus and Malta". However the next EU enlargement on January 1st 1995 did not include Malta, as elements of the Maltese Government had been hoping for.

Instead in April 1995 the Council of the European Union said negotiations with Malta and Cyprus could start. The Maltese Government feared that Malta's mention with Cyprus could hinder Malta's progress towards accession because of Cyprus's internal division. Malta insisted that its application should be considered on its own merits.

June 1995 witnessed two other important steps. While another financial protocol was being signed, the EU Madrid summit declared that negotiations with Malta and Cyprus would "start six months after the conclusion of the 1996 Intergovernmental Conference and taking the outcome of that Conference into account".

Turning point

However 1996 was another turning point. The Malta Labour Party returned in government in October and immediately froze, but not withdrew, the application for full membership. Instead it pushed forwards the idea of a "Switzerland of the Mediterranean", with closer ties to the EU not outright membership. These closer ties would be sanctioned by several agreements covering various fields such as the economic and financial matters, a free trade zone that would exclude agriculture, a defence policy, education, culture, etc.

Back on track

An internal crisis in the Labour Government saw the Nationalist Party again in power after a snap election in September 1998. The new Nationalist administration immediately reactivated Malta's application to join the EU.

The Helsinki EU summit in December 1999 declared negotiations for membership should start with Malta and another five candidates.

The Malta-EU Steering and Action Committee (MEUSAC) was set up to oversee the overall accession process, thus rendering it a focal point of Malta's accession preparations.

Formal accession negotiations began in February 2000 and progress was rapid that Malta was put among ten candidates which were the most likely candidates for the next EU enlargement.

By the end of 2000 Malta provisionally closes negotiations on 12 chapters of the Acquis Communuataire. The toughest negotiations would not come before 2002 on such areas as environment, competition, and agriculture.

The aim of the Nice Treaty, approved by the EU summit in Nice in December 2000, is to overhaul the institutions of the European Union in preparation for a union of 27 member states rather than the current 15.

It was announced that Malta would get five members of the European Parliament, three votes in the Council and one member on the European Commission.

However in June voters in the Irish Republic rejected the treaty, the only country to do so, leaving its future and the future of the enlargement process in doubt. EU officials insist that preparations for enlargement are going ahead in spite of the "no" vote, but it is not clear how expansion can continue if the treaty is not ratified.

In the meantime Malta successfully negotiated some derogations and transition periods. (Go to the section called "Negotiations on Specific Areas" for a list of major results of the negotiations).

The other nine candidate countries made quicker progress than Malta and closed more chapters than Malta. The Maltese government tried to exploit all the time to negotiations until the last minute to get what, in its opinion, was the best deal for Malta.

The Maltese government reiterated its intention to conclude negotiations by the end of 2002 and hold a referendum on membership soon after.

In the EU summit at Laeken in December 2001 Malta together with nine other candidate countries for accession were mentioned by name in the final document. The other countries are

In a 93-page report published on Wednesday October 9th 2002, entitled Towards an Enlarged Union, the European Commission has concluded that 10 countries, including Malta, are ready to join the European Union in 2004. The more specific 2002 Regular Report From the Commission on Malta's Progress Towards Accession focuses on Malta. The report highlights several shortcomings of Malta but clears the way for full membership. The ten candidate countries, including Malta, are now regarded as countries that will become members and not just candidates for accession.

Negotiations for Malta's accession to the EU continued right up to the EU Summit in Copenhagen, Denmark, where Malta was formally invited to join the Union. Maltese Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami accepted the invitation.

Referendum question and date

On the 17th January 2003 the Maltese Parliament approved a motion which provided for the holding of a referendum on EU membership. The Opposition voted against, but the approved motion contained the text of the question of the referendum: "Do you agree that Malta become a member of the European Union in the enlargement that will take place on 1st May 2004?"

The Parliamentary debate about the referendum question had been barely concluded, with a majority approving the wording, when the Prim Minister proposed Dr. Sant a deal. This would entail making the referendum's result binding for both parties and agreeing on the latest date when the general elections would be held.

Dr. Sant replied with a proposal of his own: the general election to be held as soon as possible and the referendum be held immediately afterwards. The referendum would then be binding to both major political parties if the 'yes' or 'no' vote get 60% or more of the votes cast.

Dr. Fenech Adami rejected Dr. Sant's proposal, insisting the Nationalist government had a mandate to hold entry talks with the EU and a referendum immediately afterwards

Then on Wednesday 29th January 2003, the Prime Minister ended all speculation on the date of the referendum when he presented the writ to the President of Malta Guido de Marco to hold the referendum on the 8th March 2003. President de Marco duly signed it, marking the beginning of the referendum campaign.

Malta was the first among the 10 EU acceding countries to hold the referendum on membership. The 8th March also saw one third of the Maltese electorate casting its vote in Local Council Elections in 23 Localities.

In the referendum the YES vote accounted for 53.6% of the valid votes, while the NO obtained 46.4%. Thus the majority of the Maltese expressed their opinion of Malta joining the European Union. However the result created a confused situation, with both camps claiming victory. The Opposition Labour Party said the government had not garnered support from the majority of the eligible voters and challenged the government to call an early election to settle the matter once and for all.

In Maltese politics the decisive tool is always the general election. On the 10th of March 2003 Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami, riding on the referendum victory, called for a snap general election, which was held on the 12th April 2003, the first possible date after the referendum.

The EU issue dominated the election campaign. The Nationalist Party's election platform was based on just one issue: the benefits of EU membership. The Malta Labour Party insisted on its "partnership" option, and Alternattiva Demokratika continued with its pro-EU stance. However the prospects of a PN-AD alliance to secure a pro-EU government did not materialise.

The Nationalist Party was returned to power with 51.8% of the valid votes, and the way was paved for the re-elected Prime Minister to sign the Accession Treaty for Malta's accession to the EU on 16th April 2003 in Athens, together with the other nine acceding countries and 15 Member States.

The Accession Treaty was ratified by the Maltese Parliament on 14th July 2003, with 35 votes in favour and 25 against. The Opposition, which had championed the NO camp, qualified its stand and said Malta's place in the EU is a reality which it accepts.

Malta was the first acceding country to ratify the Treaty.
In the meantime Maltese representatives were involved in the drafting of the EU Constitution by the European Convention.

The Maltese Parliament was also responsible for the creation of the framework for the election of Maltese Members to the European Parliament, to be held for the first time in June 2004.

Thus it seems everything is set for the 1st May 2004, when Malta and nine other countries will join the enlarged European Union, ushering a new phase in European History.