Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1293556
7 EDITORIAL BusinessToday is published every Thursday. The newspaper is a MediaToday publication and is distributed to all leading stationers, business and financial institutions and banks. MANAGING EDITOR: SAVIOUR BALZAN EDITOR: PAUL COCKS BusinessToday, MediaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN9016, Malta Newsroom email: bt@mediatoday.com.mt Advertising: afarrugia@mediatoday.com.mt Telephone: 00356 21 382741 M alta has rejected signing a Status of Forces Agreement with the US for the better part of two decades. e cross-party consensus was based on SOFA possibly being in breach of Malta's neutrality as enshrined in the Constitution, although this has never been properly argued and tested. Without a SOFA arrangement in place, the US has been reluctant to send military vessels to Malta for courtesy calls. Maltese shipyards have also been un- able to tender for maintenance work on the US Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean. e lack of agreement may also stunt the level of military cooperation between both countries in cracking down on smuggling in the central Medi- terranean. A SOFA itself does not constitute a security ar- rangement but establishes the rights and privileges of American personnel present in a country in sup- port of other arrangements they would have agreed to. A SOFA does not mean the US will have a military base in Malta or a permanent presence. ere are benefits of having a SOFA in place even if Malta includes qualifying clauses like other coun- tries have done, including those on shared juris- diction in the case of criminal acts carried out by American servicemen. At the very least, Malta must have a serious debate on the type of military relationship it should have with the US, even if this is based on practical con- siderations. After all, despite its neutrality, Malta joined NA- TO's Partnership for Peace programme in 2008, and practical considerations were the principle reason for this. rough its participation in PfP Malta was allowed to sit in on EU defence meetings where privileged information is shared. e country had been experi- encing problems at an EU level until then because it was neither a NATO nor a PfP member. But while calling for a debate on SOFA, this leader cannot but note that the circumstances under which it is being considered now are anything but ideal. e truth is that renewed pressure from the Amer- icans comes at a time when Malta is at its weakest on the international stage. Faced with the prospect of grey-listing by Mon- eyval over shortcomings in the fight against finan- cial crime, Malta could use the clout the US has on the international Financial Action Task Force to convince its partners it means business. However, American clout comes at a price and SOFA appears to be one such condition despite of- ficial pronouncements by the government denying any link between an agreement and Moneyval. It is unfortunate that the debate on SOFA, and in the wider context, Malta's relationship with the US on security and military matters, has to happen un- der a dark cloud. It is truly the price of maladmin- istration. Malta has registered progress in addressing good governance failures since Robert Abela's adminis- tration took office in January. Important reforms have taken place and others are in the pipeline. Efforts to beef up the regulatory and law enforce- ment agencies tasked with overseeing the fight against financial crime have been intensified. More needs to be done to see deeper investigations on financial crimes, dismantling of organised crim- inal networks and eventually prosecutions but we have seen the first signs of a police force willing to go after the big fish over allegations of money laun- dering, bribery and corruption. ere appears to be the political will to run the full course but this alone may not be enough to convince Malta's international partners after the disgraceful happenings under the Muscat administration. Soliciting the help of the US is a practical way of gaining some leverage on the international stage but in doing so Abela's government must be open and honest about its intentions. The price to pay for securing American support 1.10.2020