European Parliament resolution on Malta's application for membership of the European Union, and the state of negotiations ((COM(1999) 508 — C5-0031/2000 — 1999/2029(COS))
Date: 2000-10-04
Institutions: Committee on Foreign Affairs, European Parliament
Subjects: EU relations, Malta, accession criteria, accession negotiations, accession to the European Union, economic situation, political situation

C 178/158

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

22.6.2001

Wednesday 4 October 2000

Believes, in this respect, that projects involving the two communities should be instituted and dialo-

8.
gue between the parties encouraged in a new framework of confidence-building measures;

Takes the view, finally, that the accession of Cyprus will strengthen the Union’s influence in the

9.
eastern Mediterranean, thus making for greater security in that region;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and Commission, the parliaments of

10.
the Member States and the Government and Parliament of the Republic of Cyprus.

13. Malta

A5-0243/2000

European Parliament resolution on Malta’s application for membership of the European Union,
and the state of negotiations ((COM(1999) 508 ) C5-0031/2000 ) 1999/2029(COS))

The European Parliament,

+ having regard to Malta’s application for membership of the European Union, submitted in July 1990
and reactivated on 10 September 1998, pursuant to Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union,

+ having regard to the report updating the Commission opinion on Malta’s application for membership
(COM(1999) 69 + C4-0163/1999), and the 1999 Regular Report from the Commission on Malta’s
Progress towards Accession (COM(1999) 508 + C5-0031/2000),

+ having regard to the previous Commission reports on Malta’s application for membership of 26 June

1995 (1) and 30 March 1999 (COM(1999) 69 + C4-0163/1999),

+ having regard to its resolution of 15 April 1999 (2) on the report from the Commission updating the
Commission opinion on Malta’s application for membership (COM(1999) 69 + C4-0163/1999),

+ having regard to the conclusions of the Copenhagen (21/22 June 1993), Luxembourg (12/13 Decem-

ber 1997) and Helsinki (10/11 December 1999) European Councils,

+ having regard to Council Regulation (EC) 555/2000 of 13 March 2000 on the implementation of

operations in the framework of the pre-accession strategy for the Republic of Malta (3),

+ having regard to the accession negotiations with Malta which opened on 15 February 2000,

+ having regard to Rule 47(1) of the Rules of Procedure,

+ having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Common Security

and Defence Policy (A5-0243/2000),

A. whereas its democratic status and respect for human rights show that Malta has a genuine vocation to

be a member of the European Union,

B. whereas Malta meets the Copenhagen political criteria and, as a functioning market economy, should
be able to cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the Union by pursuing the steps
underway to restructure its industry and to reduce the government deficit,

(1) OJ C 249, 25.9.1995, p.74.
(2) OJ C 219, 30.7.1999, p. 451.
(3) OJ L 68, 16.3.2000, p. 3.

22.6.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 178/159

Wednesday 4 October 2000

C. whereas Malta forms an integral part of the European community of states and cultures and its acces-
sion will strengthen the political and security dimension of the European Union, particularly in the
Mediterranean,

D. whereas Malta has a geo-strategic importance between Europe and Africa; whereas by its continuing
commitment to the Euro-Mediterranean partnership, Malta has sought to maintain its role as a bridge
between the northern and southern Mediterranean;

1. Welcomes the decision of the Helsinki European Council which led to the initiation of accession
negotiations with Malta and five other candidate countries;

2.
Notes with regret that the government and the opposition differ in their assessments of the issue of
Malta’s accession to the European Union, and supports all efforts by the various European institutions,
particularly the European Parliament, 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;

3.
Considers that Malta fulfils the Copenhagen political criteria, as it possesses functioning, stable,
democratic institutions, although the administrative capacity of the executive should be further enhanced;

Observes that Malta’s constitutional institutions function in an independent, democratic and stable

4.
manner;

Considers that no problems exist in Malta with regard to respect for fundamental human rights and

5.
freedoms, and observes that there are no national minorities in Malta;

6.
Considers that Malta possesses a functioning market economy and should be in a position to with-
stand competitive pressure and market forces within the Union provided that it adopts appropriate mea-
sures, particularly by continuing with industrial restructuring;

Observes that Malta must continue to make reducing its national debt one of its main objectives and

7.
welcomes the measures already initiated to this end, particularly in the field of taxation policy;

8. Welcomes the drawing-up of a national programme for the adoption of the acquis (NPAA) to pursue
the requisite further structural change and modernisation of administration;

9. Welcomes Malta’s participation in the multilateral political dialogue concerning foreign and security
policy and recalls that Malta has already previously displayed its willingness to support the EU’s positions
in the field of the CFSP;

10.
Notes the necessity of maintaining the progress which is being made in the field of justice and
home affairs, particularly asylum policy and combating organised crime and drugs trafficking, and wel-
comes the priorities proposed for this field in the NPAA;

11.
Considers that Malta needs to intensify its efforts to transpose, apply and enforce the Community
acquis in the environmental field; considers it particularly essential to draw up a directive-specific financing
plan for solving the problems which exist with regard to land use, effluent, air pollution, waste manage-
ment and nature conservation, taking account of the TAIEX programme and involving experts and repre-
sentatives of civil society;

12.
Observes that Malta still needs to adopt further measures with regard to approximation in the field
of agriculture, and in this context welcomes Malta’s efforts to reduce tariffs in stages in this economically
small but important sector, and accordingly endorses the priorities of the NPAA;

13.
Recalls that hitherto Malta has not had any specific system for monitoring State aid; welcomes, in
this context, the public undertaking given by the government to liberalise the telecommunications market
by 2002, and, here too, endorses the approach stated in the NPAA;

C 178/160

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

22.6.2001

Wednesday 4 October 2000

14.
Considers that the measures proposed in the NPAA for the fields of maritime transport and for
shipyards (dry docks) should be seen as positive, and welcomes the restructuring proposed for this sensi-
tive industry by combining ship-building and ship repair;

15. Welcomes, in view of the predominance of SMEs in the Maltese economy and the problems in this
field, and in the light of the inadequate openness of the economy to date and the lack of competition in
some sections of industry producing for the domestic market, the setting-up of an Institute for the Promo-
tion of Small Enterprises (IPSE) as a step in the right direction in the process of restructuring Maltese
industry;

16. Welcomes the financial support of € 38 million for 2000-2004 for harmonisation in connection
with the pre-accession strategy for Malta, but points out that the financial aid for Malta within the pre-
accession strategy should correspond to the rules applied for the other candidate countries; recommends in
addition that the best possible use be made of existing programmes such as Interreg and MEDA, as well as
of EIB loans;

Calls on Malta, in addition to adopting the acquis, also to transpose the Community acquis by means

17.
of a general increase in the efficiency and effectiveness of administrative capacity;

18. Welcomes the rapid conclusion of the ‘screening’ process with Malta as well as the successful com-
pletion of the first round of negotiations; also fully endorses the unrestricted application of the principle of
individual assessment of the candidate countries in the light of their respective progress in the current and
future rounds of negotiations;

19.
Considers that the public must be promptly informed about the political, economic and social
impact of the possible accession of Malta to the EU in order to ensure the continuity of the accession
process, particularly with reference to the referendum which it is intended to hold after the conclusion of
the negotiations; welcomes the Commission’s initiative with regard to its information policy; considers that
in addition a comprehensive dialogue with all sections of the population and politically relevant groups
and parties is called for;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the parliaments of

20.
the Member States and the Maltese Government and Parliament.

14. Undesirable substances and products in animal nutrition ***I

A5-0257/2000

Proposal for a European Parliament and Council directive on undesirable substances and products
in animal nutrition (COM(1999) 654 ) C5-0344/1999 ) 1999/0259(COD))

The proposal was amended as follows:

TEXT PROPOSED
BY THE COMMISSION (1)

AMENDMENTS
BY PARLIAMENT

(Amendment 1)
Recital 2

(2)
Livestock production occupies a very important place in
farming in the Community and satisfactory results depend to
a large extent on the use of appropriate good-quality feeding-
stuffs.

(2)
Livestock production occupies a very important place in
farming in the Community and satisfactory results in terms
of livestock producers’ finances, consumer health, animal
welfare and the environment depend to a large extent on the
use of appropriate good-quality feedingstuffs.

(1) OJ C 89 E, 28.3.2000, p. 70.