A long-sought agreement on oil exploration in the waters between Malta and Libya appears to be in the pipeline, Foreign Affairs Minister Tonio Borg told Parliament yesterday evening in reply to a parliamentary question from opposition MP Noel Farrugia.

Discussions with Malta’s southern neighbour, Dr Borg said, by means of a so-called ‘Mixed Commission’ were ongoing and have now moved on from general matters to the nitty-gritty of hammering out the oil exploration issue, possibly in terms of joint ventures between the countries.

The issue is complex. The International Court of Justice in 1985 drew up a demarcation line to the north of the median line between Malta and Libya – to Malta’s detriment. Just to the east of the demarcation line was an area being disputed by Libya and Italy while an area to the east of the line was being disputed by Tunisia. As such, Italy, Tunisia, Libya and Malta all have stakes in the discussions.

Providing a series of supplementary questions, opposition leader Alfred Sant questioned the advisability of going for a bilateral or multilateral agreement in the area. Multilateral issues, he said, often cropped up within the context of bilateral discussions and since almost 20 years bilateral discussions had not yielded fruit, Dr Sant argued a multilateral approach would be best suited for the question at hand.

Dr Borg said tangible developments are in hand in terms of separate discussions with Libya and Italy, where the options available were to either go for joint exploration agreements or referring the issue to the courts.

Of the two options, Dr Borg described joint exploration as the most favourable.

A final meeting between Malta and Libya was in the offing, where Dr Borg said Libya was ready to discuss options – but the countries clearly had differing inclinations.

Following question-time, yesterday’s sixth session of Parliament of new legislature saw members of Parliament treating an array of topics in reply to the President’s opening speech – from education to the environment to parliamentary privilege to renewable energies – but with most MPs making reference to the spirit of cooperation and reciprocal respect among the two sides of the House.

PN MP and minister under the last legislature Censu Galea called on Speaker of the House Louis Galea to investigate how parliamentary privilege has been used in the past and to advise on how it would be used in future. The privilege, which he said had been abused over the last legislature, was a right parliamentarians enjoyed, but, more importantly, MPs had an obligation to see that it was used in the right way.

On the issue of reciprocal respect, Mr Galea said the fact that one respects another who does not necessarily agree was the antithesis of partisanism, which the country certainly did not need any longer.

MLP MP Justyne Caruana observed how the catch phrase of the current legislature was for both sides of the House to “work together”, but doing so first implies a basis of “reciprocal respect”. The government, she said, needs to present facts and actions instead of mere catch phrases.

MLP MP Marlene Pullicino stressed how Malta’s workforce could no longer afford to be a passive workforce, but rather had to be flexible and proactive. Life skills necessary for students to survive in post-educational life, she said, need to be made part of scholastic education.

Justice and Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici remarked on the difference in atmosphere between the past and present composition of Parliament, and that the positive confrontation of ideas marking the legislature so far was indeed the foundation of the future. Dr Mifsud Bonnici welcomed the possibility of the institution of a DNA lab to help with criminal investigations, as well as the potential setting up of a register for sexual abusers, which he said should be put up for “careful” discussion.

Education, Culture, Youth and Sport Minister Dolores Cristina noted how the government’s 2015 vision incorporated education as a main element, and remarked how the government’s working plan was ambitious and not only included measures for economic growth and stability but also addressed all dimensions of an individual’s life.

In terms of education, the government’s aim is to increase participation rates in both obligatory and continued education, raise the quality and standards of all the country’s educational institutions, and to turn Malta into an educational centre of excellence in line with its 2015 vision.

Following replies to the President’s speech, the Parliament heard the second readings of the Central Registry Bill, the Public Administration Bill, amendments to the Refugees Bill and amendments to the Gieh ir-Repubblika Bill.

MLP MP Silvio Parnis, PN MP Frederick Azzopardi, PN Philip Mifsud, MLP MP Anthony Zammit and PN MP Stephen Spiteri also addressed yesterday’s session.