"EU membership meant adaptation and change for Malta. In many areas it opened horizons of opportunity, in others we need to recognise failures. More than ever, we need to ensure that new EU legislation drafted in Brussels reflects better our island realities." PN spokesperson and MEP candidate Peter Agius said in an interview on Friday.

Agius made these remarks when interviewed on ‘Ici l’Europe’ (Here is Europe), the European Affairs bulletin of France 24, the French owned multinational TV network reaching an audience of 46 million viewers worldwide.

During the interview broadcast from Marsaxlokk, Agius drew a comparison between the EU fisheries rules which protect the seas but impose detailed rules on fishing activity and the Electrogas project right in front of the bay where a public utilities project ended up in circles of damning allegations of illegality. ‘The EU revealed itself very powerful to regulate the details of the fisherman’s trade but helpless to address the Electrogas scandal.’ Agius pointed out.

Agius, a long-serving EU official, explained how the early EU accession days brought unprecedented growth to Malta and the development of several industries made possible thanks to the EU open market.

"Now we need to start another cycle of success by tapping into new areas of growth for Malta. This is made all the more imperative as our tax competitiveness is coming under fire with constant advances towards European tax harmonisation. I believe that while tax fairness is a matter for the European table so is the need to secure the competitiveness of islands and island states like Malta. The European model must take the particular needs of territories cut off from the internal market. This is also why I proposed earlier last year the systematic inclusion of an insularity test to new EU legislation which should at least weight the additional burdens of new legislation on island territories", Agius insisted.  

Caroline de Camaret, editor for European Affairs with France 24 asked Agius about Chinese, Turkish, Russian and other third country investments in Malta and whether these put in doubt Malta’s European vocation. "EU membership should bolster not limit Malta’s potential for Foreign Direct Investment. We must remain open to third country investments. Third country investments should however be vetted and subject to EU scrutiny when these relate to critical infrastructure like the energy or internet networks. We must not stifle investment with artificial rules but at the same time we must not be naive and put European integrity at risk", concluded Agius.

The interview with Peter Agius will be broadcasted on two channels of France 24, one aimed at an international audience in English and the other to be broadcast in France and other French speaking countries in French.