Mr Mifsud and Prime Minister Blair discussed initiatives which they can work on together, especially after the MLP won the European Parliament election in Malta last June. Besides meeting Mr Blair, Mr Mifsud also met Jack Straw and the chancellor of the exchequer, Gordon Brown.

Mr Mifsud discussed the British presidency of the G8 and that of the European Union in July 2005 and how the MLP and the British Labour party can cooperate in this context.

It is expected that Maltese Labour activists will travel to Britain next year to help the British Labour Party in its general election campaign, while British Labour spokesmen are expected to attend training seminars for Maltese activists in Malta. Prime Minister Blair’s wife, Cherie, also informed Mr Mifsud that she will be visiting Malta later this month to address a lecture for the Maltese judiciary. This initiative is being spearheaded by the British High Commission in Malta.

When he met with representatives of the British group of socialist MEPs, Mr Mifsud discussed the need to keep the citizens in the member states updated on the developments on the proposed EU constitution. Both British and Maltese Labour MEPs are working to safeguard their national interests in the light of these developments.

On behalf of the Malta Labour Party, Mr Mifsud congratulated Rose Degiorgio Burley, the deputy leader of the Walsall Council Labour group, who was elected to chair the British Labour party’s constitutional affairs committee. Ms Degiorgio Burley, who was born in Cospicua, has been on this committee for the last 10 years and was elected to chair it during the Brighton conference.