Alfred Sant jikkonferma li se jkun qed jagħlaq il-kapitlu Ewropew tiegħu

L-eks Prim Ministru Alfred Sant qal li mhux se jkun qed jerġa’ jikkontesta f’elezzjoni oħra tal-Parlament Ewropew biex jagħmel spazju għal kandidati ġodda. Waqt intervista ma’ Andrew Azzopardi fuq 103 radio u s-sit elettroniku tal-istazzjon, Sant stqarr li “meta tilħaq ċerta età jagħmel sens li titlaq u tagħmel spazju għal xi ħadd ieħor”.

Mistoqsi jekk ħassux skomdu li jikkontesta l-elezzjonijiet tal-Parlament Ewropew fl-2014 peress li kien mexxa l-kampanja tal-Partit Laburista kontra s-sħubija ta’ Malta fl-Unjoni Ewropea, Sant qal li assolutament le. “Bħala MPE dejjem irrappreżentajt u ddefendejt l-interessi tal-Maltin u mhux dawk Ewropej. Barra minn hekk, qatt ma dħalt għal rwoli Ewropej bħal viċi-president ta’ xi kumitat parlamentari, li kien jeħtieġni naġixxi fl-interessi tal-Unjoni Ewropea mhux biss ta’ Malta”, huwa sostna.

Dwar l-esperjenza ta’ Malta bħala membru sħiħ tal-Unjoni Ewropea, il-MPE Laburista nnota li Malta marret tajjeb ħafna ekonomikament f’oqsma li ma jaqgħux taħt il-kompetenza tal-Unjoni Ewropea bħat-turiżmu, is-servizzi finanzjarji, u l-gaming. Min-naħa l-oħra, Malta marret ħażin f’setturi fejn l-Unjoni Ewropea għandha kompetenza sħiħa bħat-trasport, il-biedja, u l-manifattura.

Minn lenti Ewropea, skont Sant, it-tliet kwistjonijiet ewlenin ta’ tħassib issa huma l-inflazzjoni, l-ambjent, u r-reġim tat-taxxa. Dwar l-inflazzjoni, qal li din tista’ toħloq problemi għas-sostenibbiltà finanzjarja ta’ Malta. Dwar l-ambjent, saħaq fuq il-ħtieġa li tittieħed azzjoni effettiva kontra t-tibdil fil-klima. Dan se jinvolvi l-introduzzjoni ta’ miżuri stretti u għaljin. Fl-aħħar nett, dwar ir-reġim tat-taxxa, Sant stqarr li Malta qed tiffaċċja pressjoni dejjem akbar mill-Ewropa biex tibdel ir-reġim tat-taxxa korporattiva tagħha.

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Alfred Sant confirms he will be closing his European chapter

Former Prime Minister Alfred Sant said that he will not be contesting another European parliamentary election to make room for new candidates. During a radio interview with Andrew Azzopardi on 103 radio and webstation, Sant stated that “when you reach a certain age it makes sense to leave and make room for someone else”. 

Asked if he felt uncomfortable to contest the MEP elections in 2014 since he led the Labour party campaign against Malta’s membership of the European Union, Sant said that he absolutely did not. “As an MEP I always represented and defended the interests of Maltese people and not European ones. Besides, I never took European roles such as vice-president of a parliamentary committee, that would have required me to act in the interests of the European Union”, he noted.

Regarding the Malta experience as a full member of the European Union, the Labour MEP noted that Malta did economically very well in areas which do not fall within the competence of the European Union such as tourism, financial services, and gaming. On the other hand, Malta did badly in sectors where the European Union has full competence such as transport, farming, and manufacture.

From a European perspective, according to Sant, the three main issues of concern now are inflation, the environment, and the tax regime. On inflation, he said that this can cause problems to the Malta’s financial sustainability. On the environment, he stressed the need to take effective action against climate change. This will entail the introduction of rigorous and costly measures. Finally, on the tax regime, Sant stated that Malta is facing increasing pressure from Europe to change its corporate tax regime.