Economy Minister Chris Cardona and Justice Minister Owen Bonnici presented themselves before the European Parliament (EP) committee on legal affairs, also known as JURI. There role is to present their respective programs for the upcoming six months while Malta takes the EU Council presidency.
Justice Minister Owen Bonnici said that the current climate surrounding the EU points towards a dire need for top officials to communicate their message and their work in a far more effective way to EU citizens.
“The need for reform has never been more evident than it is today. Malta is determined to make a meaningful contribution.”
He acknowledged that six months is a short time, and said that nobody has delusions of grandeur. “We know the realities but we are ambitious and determined,” he said.
“The EP is an institution that is closest to the people.
“Our main priority is straightforward, to achieve as much progress as possible in terms of the legislative proposals on the negotiating table. Negotiations in the Council focus first on the examination of the digital content proposal.
“The main issues of discussion in the Council and the EP seem to be very similar, we are therefore also following the work of the JURI committees. We hope that the work carried out in the presidency on digital content will contribute to meaningful policy change.
“We share the European Commission’s objective of reducing cross border barriers and stimulate investments that create jobs…We intend to conduct a policy debate at the Justice and Home Affairs council on family matters and the interest of the child.”
He said that importance will be given to fight gender based violence and on the EU’s accession to the Istanbul Convention.
The presidency intends to organize a conference on hate speech, where Dr Bonnici said that he hoped to gain the support of the EP.
An MEP commended the Minister for the fast paced legislative changes that have taken place throughout the years in Malta.
Minister Cardona said that the Presidency will be focusing on the digital market agenda, stressing the importance of “portability”. He is confident of a balanced first reading agreement to be achieved in the upcoming six months.
He said that once the courts conclude its decision on the competence of the Marrakesh treaty, he hopes to ratify and conclude before the end of the presidency. The Marrakesh treaty deals with copyright law and infringement. Dr Cardona spoke of seeking to establish the right balance of free flowing information, preserving culture and liberty while also protecting the owner of content.
Dr Cardona was going to move on to country-by-country reporting, but decided to “stop there”.
He said that the Presidency will be look at how to boost SMEs and make them more competitive, and also spoke of developing regulations that are not overly burdensome but also contribute towards transparency and fairness.
“Identifying regulatory barriers is key to competitive advantage, therefore our regulations must be made future proof and friendly to innovation,” he said.
Local MEP Therese Comidini Cachia asked Minister Cardona to indicate what issues from the commission’s proposal on copyright law are giving rise to the most controversy at Council level.
In response, Dr Cardona said: “The Council has started and will continue as a matter of priority under the Maltese presidency the examination of the two Commission proposals on copyright legislation framework. Our main objective as council is to strike the right balance of free flow of information of cultural heritage and defending the rights of content holders.”