The president of the European Union’s Committee of the Regions Peter Straub insisted yesterday on the importance of ratifying the EU constitutional treaty, saying this would lead to a more democratic Europe.

During a short joint statement following a meeting with Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, Mr Straub said the Committee of the Regions wants the EU constitutional treaty to be ratified because this was important for Europe in order to make it more democratic and more dynamic. This treaty will mean that the people of Europe, as well as the local authorities and regions, will gain more powers and have more influence.

He said that, for the first time, the internal structures of member states, including their authorities and regions, are being recognised by the European Union and this will lead to greater democracy in Europe.

Mr Straub said that the next important step for Europe is the approval of the financial perspectives for the years 2007 to 2013. He expressed the hope that a decision on this subject will be taken at the end of this week, during a summit for the heads of state.

It is, he said, a question of soli-darity to provide the EU’s 25 member states with the funds they need to develop.

He also congratulated Dr Gonzi and the Maltese government on the way local councils have developed in the past 12 years.

Dr Gonzi said that during their meeting, both sides had touched on various issues of common interest. One of these was the issue of irregular immigration. Mr Straub said that as far as irregular immigration is concerned, Malta cannot cope on its own. He added that there is a need for an across-the-board policy on irregular immigration, assisting those countries which really need help in this regard.

Dr Gonzi said they had also spoken about the European constitutional treaty and the financial perspectives over which there are still a number of difficulties which should be resolved later this week.

Other issues discussed included the idea of increasing the terms of local councils from three years to five. This would give councils more time to plan their work.

More or less the same topics were discussed during a meeting Mr Straub had with the Parliamentary Standing Committee for Foreign and European Affairs, chaired by Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi.