MEP David Casa yesterday visited the Vella Brothers Group in its offices in Qormi as part of his constituency week.

“Since joining the EU, there has been fewer controls at the borders and this facilitates access to the European market. Although there were people who tried to instil fears before joining the EU, facts have proved them wrong,” Mr Casa said.

From a logistical viewpoint, Malta’s accession to the European Union has undoubtedly been of great benefit to the Maltese economy. Accession to the EU has provided both importers and exporters with opportunities to enhance and streamline their supply chain. In addition, the industry has also seen a decrease in transportation costs, he added.

Mr David Fleri Soler, sales manager for Express Trailers, said that companies had more opportunities because of the EU, and taking less time due to open borders meant an improvement in their service.

Before accession, free carriage of goods between member states in EU countries was illegal for Malta, and heavily penalised Maltese operators. Trailers had to be shipped via Malta in order to transport goods between two member states. This was now no longer necessary.