Professor Cassola was speaking at a press conference on tourism. He said that no one from the government had replied to his questions as to whether the government had applied to the EU for permission to reduce tourism VAT rates. The application, he said, had been open until 1 May.

Prof. Cassola was citing EU directive 1999-85EC which allows member states to reduce their VAT rate on labour-intensive industries until 2005, after which the directive would be reassessed. He gave Barcelona as an example which, he said, has a VAT rate of seven per cent on tourism.

He also mentioned funds the government had failed to apply for as part of the Shenghen agreement. This agreement, which deals with EU border control among other things, stipulated that modifications would have to be made to the Malta International Airport’s arrivals terminal. He said that subsidy funds had been available, and now that they were lost the government would have to pay for the alterations through Maltese tax money.

Prof. Cassola said that if elected to the EP, he will work to bring the opportunities of the EU to the Maltese. The government needed to pull its socks up, he said, and avail itself of all the opportunities that could make crucial sectors like tourism – which represents 25 per cent of the Maltese GDP – more competitive.

Meanwhile AD chairman Harry Vassallo, responded to a statement by Enemalta Corporation in which it invited AD officials to tour the company’s premises and see for themselves whether

the company is, in fact, EU

compliant.

Enemalta was reacting to comments made at a press conference held by AD in front of the Marsa power station at which AD had said that the station’s sulphur dioxide emissions did not conform with EU standards.

Dr Vassallo said he would accept the offer to visit the corporation’s facilities, adding that he hoped to be given the opportunity to visit among others the company’s facilities in Qajjenza which, he said, were recently described by the IT and Investments Minister as a “chicken farm”.