Dr Frendo was speaking at a breakfast meeting with the theme 150 days in the EU, Rise or Fall?, organised by the Malta Institute of Management. Echoing MLP spokesman Leo Brincat, who addressed the meeting before him, Dr Frendo said it was too early to make a definitive statement on whether EU accession has been a success. “We are still learning the ropes – the EU itself is still adjusting to the new reality of having such small states as Malta and Cyprus as its members,” he said.

Dr Frendo said that EU membership provided a host of new opportunities, and the relationships Malta had with non-EU members should be now looked at from a different perspective. He mentioned the long-standing contacts Malta had with Australia, saying that Australians and Maltese migrants in Australia are showing interest in Libya and are exploring the possibility of using Malta as a platform. He also mentioned China, saying that Malta has become more politically relevant to China now than it ever was in the past and adding that over the years, Malta had managed to forge an excellent relationship with the country.

MLP Spokesman Leo Brincat said that, as it had always done, the Labour party believed that EU accession alone would not jump-start the economy, and added that it was up to the government and its sound economic planning to do the job.

While stating that it was too early to make an effective judgement on Malta’s performance as a member of the EU, there were areas in which the government’s inaction needed to be questioned seriously. Mr Brincat asked whether, in hindsight, one could say that Malta was adequately prepared for the influx of new legislation imposed by the EU or whether the country had the necessary infrastructure to take full advantage of the technical and financial assistance available.

“Has there been any serious probe as to why the Maltese government presented no environmental project to the EU’s Life Environmental Programme, when other new member states got a number of projects approved? The government’s decision to blame lack of interest and complexity of procedure does not wash, particularly since such a programme was available from before accession. Is the government truly satisfied that it could not have done more to access assistance under the ARGO programme, which deals with illegal immigration?”

The Maltese economy has been under-performing for at least the past four years, Mr Brincat said, adding that before accession many were lured by EU membership, because of the argument that accession would attract foreign direct investment (FDI). However, quoting from the Central Bank’s Quarterly Review, Mr Brincat pointed out that this has not been the case, and that the Lm19 million FDI increase in the first three months of the year, claimed by the Prime Minister, were transactions by international banks operating in Malta, which have virtually no impact on job creation.

Mr Brincat reiterated that the Labour party accepted the new reality of EU membership without hesitation adding, however, that the government should get its priorities right and work hard to maximise opportunities and tackle challenges, which was not possible if it kept trying to hide them from public opinion.

Alternattiva Demokratika chairman Harry Vassallo also addressed the breakfast meeting. Dr Vassallo stressed, several times, that Malta could not afford partisan politics any more. He said the country needed all the resources at its disposal in order to make a success of EU membership. The formula of, what he called, “Zero sum politics,” – by which the efforts made by one side are cancelled out by the opposition – is no longer sustainable. “It is time we harnessed the full potential of our country,” he said.

AD never advocated that EU membership would be an easy path, but accession brings with it opportunities that, if exploited, could help the country progress considerably.

Despite the fact that the Maltese are considerably critical of their own country, he said, Malta had achieved wonders over the years, given its situation and lack of resources.

“Over the years we have managed to build a strong economy, but we have cheated on a number of areas to achieve this, most prominently the environment.

“There is no reason why we should not have sustainable social and environmental development but we have to use our full potential,” he stressed.

People want to have a consensual political system that works in the best interest of the country and they gave proof of this during the European parliamentary election. He said that the wave of votes for AD at this election was not so much a win for the party but a clear message to the prevailing politicians that the electorate wants change, adding that the government had done nothing about this so far.