Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1115758
19 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 12 MAY 2019 INTERVIEW gree with tax harmonisation completely. We won't take it. And the mechanisms of the S&D – of all political group- ings, actually – permit that. All European parties approach [their EP political grouping] in the same way. For instance: the Irish within the EPP disagree with tax harmonisation; the French are all for it. Because it is not just the S&D. There is a majority across the entire Eu- ropean Parliament which ap- proves tax harmonisation. That includes quite a number of EPP members: though it's not in their manifesto, they believe in tax harmonisation, and have voted for it repeatedly. And the Nationalist MEPs have actu- ally voted for a resolution on taxation that makes that very demand. That's the hypocrisy of Nationalists I was talking about… OK, but it still doesn't address the concern with tax harmonisation becoming a reality: if, for instance, Frans Timmermans becomes Commission President. What power does the Labour Party have, as one member of an enormous political alliance, to stop it from happening? But the same concern already exists today, with an EPP Com- mission President. Juncker is EPP, no? He's been pushing for tax harmonisation, too. But this is also the reality we're liv- ing in. Once we joined the EU – and it wasn't my choice, but we joined the EU – we have to accept that discipline. By that reasoning, we also have to resign ourselves to the loss of tax sovereignty… No, because that depends on other factors as well. There is the question of 'unanimity' on tax issues, which is played out at the Council. It's not played out at the Commission, or at the European Parliament. In fact, what's really bad about what the Nationalists did, by voting for that tax resolution of 13 December 2017, was pre- cisely this: they voted to scrap the unanimity rule on issues of taxation. They voted to remove the 'stop' that was blocking tax harmonisation… 'Unanimity' also implies that Malta is isolated on this issue; and that our only option would be to veto any tax harmonisation proposal at Council level… So what? Miriam Dalli, Mar- lene Mizzi and myself were the only three people, within the S&D, who voted against that resolution. So what, if we're isolated? But Malta seems isolated on other issues as well. You yourself are basing your campaign on the need to 'defend' Malta's interests against criticism: which is coming from all sorts of directions (not just the Nationalist Party). Is this really a case of 'defending Malta', though? Or are you really defending the Labour government's record? If you're elected to the Euro- pean Parliament, and you're facing European issues, in my view you have to do two things. One: of course, you have to promote European issues that are consonant with what you believe in, as a party in Malta. Like social issues, for instance. Beyond that: given the experi- ence of the past five years, we need to concentrate on re- ally defending Malta's inter- ests. That's what all the other [MEPs] do; that's what we should be doing as well. What are Malta's interests? What has fuelled our growth; what protects our environment, and way of living; and what makes sense, in terms of our Constitu- tion. This is the ethos I would like to see. That's what I've been pushing for. Of course, the emphasis recently has been a lot on 'protecting Malta'. I think you know the reasons for that quite well. We've already mentioned tax harmonisation; then there are the attacks on the way the governance of this country is being carried out… which are exaggerated by cer- tain people, and certain trends. And the way the Nationalist MEPs have been behaving over the last three or four years: ex- ploiting these issues for politi- cal mileage… Let's take a practical example. Recently you revealed that you had blocked an EP discussion on 'Egrant', shortly before the 2017 election. Given that the magisterial inquiry was far from concluded at the time: wasn't it in the national interest for that matter to be discussed? [Laughing] By the European parliament? Before an elec- tion? Come on! It was mo- bilised on a partisan basis, through and through. It was simply an input into the po- litical debate in Malta, based on a propaganda approach by the EPP. The problem with the European Parliament, on these 'rule of law' issues, is that it is not objective. If there is one thing you have to re- ally be objective about, it is how to assess violations of the fundamental principles of de- mocracy, the rule of law, etc. Are you going to let it run on the basis of someone like Rob- erta Metsola, on behalf of the EPP? Then coming with the 'Rule of Law' committee to 'investigate Malta'? Come on. […] When that discussion on Egrant, during a Maltese elec- tion campaign, was postponed until after the election – so the discussion was not 'killed'; it still took place, after the elec- tion – yes, I think it was in the national interest to do that. Still on the subject of Egrant: your public statements so far indicate that you have 'full faith in Joseph Muscat'. Do you have the same faith in Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri? That is not something which I have to discuss. Why not? Mizzi is Tourism Minister. He is part of Cabinet… I am not responsible for tour- ism, sorry. You're not responsible for the Prime Minister's portfolio either, yet you discuss your faith in him… The Prime Minister is the leader of my party. Come on… Ok, let me close with a question regarding your rapport with Joseph Muscat. I can't help noting that it contrasts with your own experience, as a younger prime minister whose government was brought down by an older former party leader. Does that experience in any way inform your support for Muscat staying on? Is it a case of not wanting to do to him, what Mintoff had done to you? No. I simply think Joseph Muscat is doing a good job. He's still young. He still has other things that he can achieve. And that's why I think he should stay on. It has noth- ing to do with any of that. 'No, no, no' PHOTOGRAPHY BY JAMES BIANCHI I simply think Joseph Muscat is doing a good job. He's still young. He still has other things that he can achieve. And that's why I think he should stay on