Malta referendum gives thumbs up to EU membership

MALTA was on track last night to become the first of the candidate countries to vote yes to membership in a popular referendum.

Just over 91% of the 298,000 voters cast their ballot on the tiny Mediterranean island which is due to become the smallest member of the EU next year.

About 53% voted for membership giving those in favour a sufficient majority in what was expected to be a very tight result all along.

However, the referendum is not binding on the government and as such this may not be the last throw of the dice for those who campaigned for a no vote as the prime minister promised to hold early general elections.

These could be possibly before Malta signs its accession Treaty in Athens on April 16.

The opposition Labour party has promised to withdraw Malta’s candidature if it wins the election as they did once before in 1996.

It currently holds 30 seats in the parliament and got 47% of the vote in the 1998 election while the ruling conservative Nationalist Party holds 35 seats.

Opposition leader Alfred Sant had called on people to boycott the vote, or to spoil their ballot paper or vote no.

However, less than 10% did not vote and there appeared to be very few spoiled votes during counting in the capital Valetta.

He had argued that the country that fought hard for its independence from Britain in 1964 would lose it with EU membership and that jobs would suffer.

The island won a number of exemptions in the last four years of negotiations on membership, including the right to prevent people flooding into the three tiny islands for work.

As supporters celebrated in the streets, the prime minister Eddie Fenech Adami welcomed the yes vote and said it would guarantee a stable future in Europe for Malta.

He is expected to call a cabinet meeting today to take a decision on elections.

His term of office however does not expire until January next year so if the Government decides the majority for membership was too small they can put off a vote.

The election was being watched with particular interest in Brussels as it is the first of nine referenda to be held by September in the candidate countries.

The only one not expected to hold a vote is Cyprus where the government of the divided island is expected to ratify accession in parliament.

European Commission President Romano Prodi welcomed the vote last night.

“This vote is a positive signal for the ratification process of this enlargement.

“This is a historic choice which will have a lasting impact for the future of Malta for generations to come.

"This is a choice for stability and growth, as well as for the peaceful reunification of Europe and the European people.”

Addressing fears that Malta's size would be ignored within the union, Mr Prodi said that the island will participate with equal rights and equal obligations in European decision-making.

“The European Union is a union of minorities, where no country has a majority. The union is a unique case in world history in terms of respecting the rights of all its members, irrespective of whether they are big or small”.

The next country to vote on EU membership is Slovenia on March 23.

There is a clear majority in favour although a vote to be held on the same day for membership for NATO is expected to be defeated.

The Hungarians are to go the polls on April 12 and all indications are for a yes vote together with Lithuania on May 10/11.

There is a clear majority in favour of membership in Slovakia according to polls but the problem will be to ensure more than 50% of the electorate vote. The Czech Republic is expected to vote yes in mid June.

The remaining Estonia, Latvia and Poland are all more problematic with public opinion more evenly divided about the benefits of membership.

The Poles are due to vote on June 8 but the two remaining countries referenda will not be held until September in the hope that a yes from all the other candidate countries will encourage them to vote yes also.