He qualified his remarks by saying that he was giving his personal opinion, and the Labour party still had to evaluate the document and discuss it internally. However, in response to what CNI chairman Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici had claimed before him, Dr Vella said that many points related to issues of sovereignty in the EU Constitution treaty are taken from previous treaties such as the Nice treaty. The statement of supremacy of EU law over local legislation, for example, is already in the Nice treaty, he said, as was the fact that certain EU laws could pass with majority voting and not through unanimity. If one had to be objective, he added, in this respect the situation has probably improved as the Constitution stipulates larger majorities than was previously the case.

Dr Mifsud Bonnici had declared that CNI is against the Constitution, arguing that it should not be accepted by the Maltese government as it contained, among other things, clauses that would make the local Constitution subsidiary to EU law. This would chip away at Malta’s sovereignty.

Now that Malta has joined the EU, Dr Vella argued, the debate should focus on the subtle changes that the Constitution brings compared to previous treaties, and on the implications of these changes. “Is this an improvement over what we had before? This is what we should be asking ourselves,” he emphasised.

In this connection, he urged government not to rush into ratifying the document, pointing out that the EU has given member states two years for this process, in view of the fact that that many countries intend calling a referendum on the issue. In England, in particular, a turbulent referendum process is expected as polls show that the majority does not favour ratification. Dr Vella said that Maltese people in general have still not realised the full implication of EU accession and therefore should be given more time to digest this new development – a point which was shared by PN Euro parliamentarian Simon Busuttil, who said that there should be an information campaign on the issue.

The other speakers were PN spokesman Jason Azzopardi, MLP Euro parliamentarian John Attard Montalto and Alternattiva Demokratika chairman Harry Vassallo.

Both Dr Azzopardi and Dr Vassallo claimed that the Constitution confirmed the EU’s commitment to peace and stability in the region. Dr Vassallo said that the document was unique in that it was the only Constitution that gave its adherents the opportunity to leave.