Dr Mifsud Bonnici also blasted the authorities for denying media exposure and refusing funding to CNI, both matters which will soon be the subject of protests at a European level.

Dr Mifsud Bonnici raised a number of points on various articles in the Constitution that are a threat to Malta’s judicial independence. He began by stating that the name of the EU Constitution is false as it is not a constitution for all European countries but only for those which are members of the EU.

Regarding article 6 of the EU Constitution, Dr Mifsud Bonnici said that this indicates that our local laws and Constitution will be superseded by the EU document and as such our Constitution will become ineffective. He added that if parliament approves the EU draft by a simple majority, then article 6 of our own Constitution will remain in force and this states that if any law is inconsistent with the Constitution then the Constitution would prevail. If the EU Constitution is approved by two-thirds or more, the Maltese Constitution would be ineffective as the EU Constitution will be the binding document, Dr Mifsud Bonnici said.

On the subject of the Adhesion Treaty, he said that this was now included in its entirety in the draft Constitution. He said that the opposition is duty bound to vote against the Constitution as it had voted against the Accession Treaty and so would be going back on its principles by a favourable vote. Dr Mifsud Bonnici explained another article, that deals with defence matters, and said that this binds Malta to assist or intervene “with all its power” to assist any EU member state that suffers military aggression or a terrorist attack.

With regard to a common foreign policy, Dr Mifsud Bonnici said that there were a number of inconsistencies on how a qualified majority would apply and that this was confusing and also a patchwork attempt by the EU to solve the difficulties raised by Poland and Spain on the Nice Treaty. He added that although the Constitution has to come into effect after all member states deposit the instruments of ratification, a specific proviso states that if four-fifths of EU countries are in agreement, the matter is to be referred to the European Council, which was another inconsistency.

In conclusion, Dr Mifsud Bonnici said that CNI was duty bound to inform the general public about the specifics of the EU constitution and its negative effects on Malta. He also criticised the Malta-EU Information Centre for its statement that the Constitution contains nothing which is new, whilst expressing serious reservations on the work-ability of the said Constitution.

Finally, Dr Mifsud Bonnici criticised the competent authorities for their denial of access to the media for CNI and also complained about the lack of proper funding from the EU Tripartite Commission that gave funds only to pro-EU groups. He said that both matters will be taken to the European Union if necessary and added that our country’s democracy was being threatened by such heavy-handed attitudes.