Malta will present its proposals on immigration in the next EU summit, but the government will not accept anything less than a concrete plan by our European counterparts, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said this morning.

Speaking during a PL activity in Ghaxaq, Dr Muscat said that Friday’s tragedy did not happen on Malta’s border, it happened on the EU’s border, and Europe has do its share.

“So far we have heard nothing but words.  We will accept nothing less but a concrete plan to tackle immigration. We were the first ones on the spot on Friday and we saved lives with the limited resources that we have. We did not hesitate to help. But in another case like the Salamis incident, when people were trying to break the rules, we would stand firm again, and look after our country’s interests.”

Dr Muscat said that these two stands are not incoherent, but actually one and the same. “As long as I am Prime Minister no one will trample on this country.”

We will not be spectators and victims of the circumstances, but protagonists on the international level.

Dr Muscat thanked the Armed Forces, the police and the health authorities, who saved lives on Friday. He also thanked all the Maltese MEPs, insisting that this is a national, not a party issue. 

Enemalta announcement

Speaking about this morning’s Enemalta announcement, Dr Muscat said that the government had managed to deliver on its promises in just six months. “They (the PN) had said that it couldn’t be done. Alice Wonderland is here”, Dr Muscat said to applause.

The Prime Minister said that not one, but twenty consortia from around the world had applied and battled to win the bid. In six months the government had completed the bidding process and the energy tariffs will be reduced in March.

“Today I am happy for the Maltese people. We are not just going to reduce tariffs but we will also stop burning heavy fuel oil. And we are going to remove the ugly Delimara chimney.”

Budget measures

Dr Muscat also referred to the upcoming budget, and said that it will include a number of measures aimed at raising people’s standard of living. He said that the government will look after those who earn a little more than the minimum wage and are always forgotten, and other measures will incentivise women to work. It will also be creating more jobs and opportunities for everyone.

“The Opposition will be surprised on budget day, because we will show everyone that we will deliver on what we promised. We will not increase VAT, or announce a price hike in energy tariffs like PN governments did in the past,” he said.

Envoys without public calls

Referring to the ongoing saga about the appointment given to Minister Konrad Mizzi’s wife, Dr Muscat said that the PN seems to be forgetting what it had done until a few months ago. “Was Richard Cachia Caruana appointed after a public call?” he asked.

Dr Muscat said that Ms Mizzi is being paid as much as an Ambassador to China. But Simon Busuttil had had a salary double to that of the Head of the Civil Service when he was a consultant to the PN government. And, even in that particular case, no call had been issued. The Opposition Leader is not to be trusted, Dr Muscat said.

This government will work with anyone who is up for the task, Dr Muscat said, insisting that the government had given appointments to PN leaning people because they were willing to work and because he trusted in their capabilities. “The people wanted change and we are giving them the change that we promised them.”

Citizenship scheme

Speaking on the citizenship-for-sale issue, the Prime Minister said that the government’s aim is to bring high value individuals to Malta. “We want to attract them to Malta for the good of our country.”  Dr Muscat said that the hoped for consensus from the Opposition on the matter. This is the only way the country can move forward.

Dr Muscat again defended the scheme and said that a number of countries ran similar schemes. “We do not want to fall behind. We want to be up there with the rest.

Civil Union law to be published Monday

The Prime Minister also announced that the law on Civil Union will be published Monday. He warned people that there will be an effort to scare them, like what happened when Mintoff decliminalised homosexuality, but assured people that the government would stand beside them. “You were not even scared by the threats of hell,” Dr Muscat said to those present, “so you should not be scared now because someone chooses to criticize you.”