The Nationalist Party is willing to sit down with the government and hold a discussion over refining the country's constitutional position on defence, PN Shadow Minister Beppe Fenech Adami told The Malta Independent.

He stressed, however, that the PN's position is that Malta should remain a neutral country.

Prime Minister Robert Abela said on Monday that he would like to see a serious, national discussion on whether the country's constitutional position on defence reflect today's realities. Abela said that a national discussion should be held to determine whether today's constitution adequately serves the country's defence necessities, and whether it is valid for present and future conflicts and realities. He clarified that Malta will not be fighting anyone's war, but will continue to provide support within its constitutional limits. However, he would like to see this "interesting" discussion divulge, round a table with the Opposition.

Contacted by this newsroom, Fenech Adami said that the party's initial reaction to the Prime Minister's statement is "one of surprise," remarking that a few months ago before the EU elections "when we were talking about the importance of increasing the defence of our country and how important security is, Robert Abela was claiming that the PN are warmongers." He reiterated what the PN had said in a statement, that this was a U-turn by the Prime Minister.

Fenech Adami said the Prime Minister spoke of the importance of investing in defence, "we were saying that six months ago and we believe that as a country we need to invest in our defence, our disciplined forces to ensure that Malta is secure at all times. We are living in a world where there are threats to our security all the time, be it wars in the region, cybercrime, the drug trade, terrorism etc."

"The second statement Abela made referred to the Constitution and the neutrality clause. First of all the PN's position is that Malta should remain a neutral country and we maintain that neutrality over the years served us well. In turbulent times Malta managed to steer forward notwithstanding the international difficulties around us. This does not meant that the time is not ripe to sit down and possibly discuss any changes which need to be done to reflect the international situation as it is today." He again stressed that Malta should remain a neutral country, highlighting that the country navigated recent issues well with the present clause, including regarding the situations in the Ukraine and the Middle East. He said that the PN is, however, ready to sit down and discuss any matters which might need to be revisited. It doesn't mean we need to change anything, but there is a reality out there and if we can sit down together to discuss whether our neutrality clause could be better refined to reflect the international situation at the moment, the PN has the will to do it and is ready to do it for the benefit of the country," Fenech Adami said.