Prime Minister Robert Abela told parliament on Wednesday that Malta is ready to contribute to the EU's Defence Readiness Roadmap 2030, focusing on civil-military coordination, maritime security, crisis preparedness, and the protection of critical infrastructure in the Mediterranean and southern Europe.

Reporting on last week's EU leaders' summit in Brussels, Abela said Europe's security landscape had changed drastically, citing war on the continent's borders, cyberattacks, and assaults on infrastructure. He stressed that Europe could no longer depend on others for its defence, but reaffirmed Malta's constitutional neutrality. While Malta disagreed with a defence approach centred on the arms industry, it supported the security concerns of states near Ukraine and advocated a "360-degree" model that combined peace, neutrality, and solidarity.

Abela reiterated Malta's continued support for Ukraine within the bounds of neutrality and said he had sought clarifications on a complex EU proposal to use interest from frozen Russian assets to fund loans to Ukraine, ensuring it complied with international law. Discussions on this would continue in December.

Turning to climate change, Abela said Malta remained ambitious but warned that EU competitiveness measures should not "shoot ourselves in the foot" by disregarding national realities. Small island states like Malta, he said, faced unique challenges due to their dependence on connectivity and industries such as aviation and maritime transport. While committed to climate goals, Malta would not back policies unsuited to its geographic and economic constraints. In the past, Malta has opposed certain aviation and maritime transport taxes.

Opposition leader Alex Borg agreed that Malta should support Ukraine and EU defence cooperation, provided neutrality was respected. He called for stronger EU competitiveness, energy independence, and faster digital transformation. He also welcomed the EU's focus on affordable housing, urging Malta to build on it to address rising housing and rental costs.

In response to a question from Labour MP Carmelo Abela, the prime minister said Malta was lobbying for support to connect to the European gas network, arguing it would enhance energy security and price stability. He accused the Opposition of previously obstructing the project, a claim Borg denied, calling it "a lie." Abela pressed Borg to state clearly whether the Opposition now backed the gas interconnector, describing it as vital for Malta's energy future.

Prime Minister Robert Abela asked PN leader Alex Borg if he and his party in Opposition will support the government to promote interconnectivity between Malta and the European Union's gas network.

Prime Minister Abela said that the possibility of installing a gas pipeline between Malta and the EU gas network is often brought up for discussion in EU fora, however, he lamented that the last time the Maltese government lobbied for this, the Nationalist Party caused so many difficulties that the government had to abandon this ambition.

Referencing this, the Prime Minister asked recently elected PN leader Alex Borg if the Nationalist Party shall be persisting on its previous stance to oppose the installation of a gas pipeline.

Interjecting, Borg's said that the Prime Minister should formally retract his declaration that the Nationalist Party's officials are willfully tarnishing Malta's reputation in mainland Europe.

In response, the Prime Minister said that history cannot be re-written, and that Borg cannot give a yes or no answer to this question because he is "compromised." PM Abela continued that if Borg had to answer yes and commit the Opposition to be in favour of a gas pipeline, then "an NGO, we all know who," will pull his party's strings in reaction.

Prime Minister Abela said that Malta is the only country among the 27 European Union Member States facing such a challenge. He committed that he will continue fighting for Malta to have a gas pipeline that connects the country to mainland Europe, similar to the present interconnector that connects Malta's power grid to Europe's.