Prime Minister Robert Abela today revealed that the airport and ports will reopen on 1 July, and that on Friday 5 June all establishments that are still closed due to Covid-19 restrictions will reopen.

 "Statistics show that the Covid-19 pandemic is a thing of the past in Malta, so we have started the process of returning to complete normality," he said during an interview on ONE TV.

He said that those who believed that the relaxation of measures were going to cause a second wave have been proven wrong as the government always had a definitive vision of stability for the future.

The coming weeks will further certify this vision, he said, as further relaxation of measures will be announced such as the reopening of all establishments that are still closed at the moment, including the courts and gyms starting from Friday 5 June. Abela said that this will officially be announced on Monday, and said that protocols will also be released for establishments to follow if they wish to reopen.

 

Additionally, on Monday 8 June the government will be announcing a multi-million euro budget, one that will not take back what it gave to people and businesses but that keeps on supporting those who are still in need.

Abela also announced that on Wednesday 1 July ports and the airport will reopen with simple protocols to follow that will not scare off tourism.

He also spoke about the next general election following the statement made by Opposition leader Adrian Delia, in which the PN Leader expressed his belief that the Nationalist party will not be losing the next general election. Abela said that that he is baffled by the fact that someone would bring up a general election week after week during a time when the country needs stability.

Abela explained that the government is focused on following through with its mandate in order to bring about a state of calm and stability.

Growth in Malta's economy this year promotes trust in economic system

The NSO has revealed that Malta experienced a growth in its economy while other EU states experienced a loss of 3.2%.

This contrast is the foundation on which we are basing our announcements in the coming weeks, Abela said. "We had two choices; leave our country to recover slowly or take immediate action based on trust in our people and businesses in order not to run the risk of any businesses falling behind."

For this reason, the budget that will be announced on 8 June will be "ambitious and aggressive" so that we can thank and encourage our people and businesses.

PM's expectations after criminal complaints against him were proven to be unfounded

On Saturday, a magisterial inquiry had cleared the PM and AFM Commander Jeffrey Curmi that they had caused the deaths of a number of migrants, after a criminal complaint signed by PN Spokesperson for Justice Jason Azzopardi on behalf of NGO Repubblika was filed. It also cleared the AFM's P52 crew of allegations of attempted murder.

"These were accusations that could have resulted in myself and members of the AFM being imprisoned. The aim of these allegations was to destabilise the country as they knew of the damage that it would cause," Abela said while using this magisterial inquiry as an example of how Malta has a justice system based on good governance.

He said that he is not ready to forgive Azzopardi or forget what he did since "it is clear" that this criminal complaint was a personal attack. "He should have come to us for an explanation before making such allegations as the magistrate said. I know who Jason Azzopardi works with and makes such plans... people who think that they have the right to govern."

He said that this statement does not include NGO Repubblika as it is a civil group and should keep on doing its work, but it should not let itself be used for ulterior motives.

"I call for an apology to be made to the AFM brigadier and AFM personnel, as there is no doubt that I was the real target here. These individuals were accused of being criminals for doing their jobs and saving lives and were paralysed for weeks with the trouble the inquiry gave rise to," he said.

Moreover, Abela wants opposition leader Delia to delineate his position with regards to the inquiry and think about whether he will sell himself to this side of Nationalist party or be the bigger person and say that these things are not acceptable.

Visit to Tripoli focused on making Malta the bridge between EU and Libya with regards to migration

Earlier last week, the PM took a trip to Tripoli, Libya, to present the Prime Minister of the Government of National Accord Fayez al-Sarraj in Tripoli with the memorandum of understanding in combatting illegal immigration and the strengthening of friendship between the two countries.

"I wanted to analyse the subject well and see how we will move forward," Abela explained. "We got to see the Libyan side of things and we found that the number of migrants that are ready to move overseas is not 700,000 but 800,000. I could have just made a call but I wanted to go there to get a holistic view of what the situation really is, as they have an influx of migrants coming from the Southern boarders ready to move to Europe to get a better future."

He emphasised that the main problem with migration is the boats that get lost at sea, arguing that this is unacceptable. He acknowledged that the decision to save migrant boats by transferring them onto tourist ships might not be the best option, but said that Malta is at full capacity and this is a statement to all other EU states that are refusing to pull their own weight.

"The visit confirmed that we are going to be the bridge between the EU and Libya which will help the union understand Libya's perspective. We always had a friendship with Libya and we have worked to strengthen this bond."