Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1471907
6 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 29 JUNE 2022 NEWS NEWS Jamie Vella must end hunger strike for discussions to begin, prison head says MATTHEW AGIUS JAMIE Vella, one of the men in- dicted on charges relating to the procurement of the bomb used to murder journalist Daphne Caru- ana Galizia, must end his prison hunger strike before discussions about his complaint about the quality of food which he is being provided in prison can begin, ac- cording to the prison director. Vella, who is also understood to suffer from type-2 diabetes, is protesting about the quality of food with which he is being pro- vided whilst in prison, awaiting trial. His lawyer, Ishmael Psaila, is expected to file a judicial protest about the issue, before the First Hall of the Civil Court later to- day, on behalf of the accused man. Vella stands accused, together with brothers Adrian and Robert Agius, known as tal-Maksar, in connection with the 2017 mur- der of Caruana Galizia and the 2015 murder of lawyer Carmel Chircop. He has been detained under preventive arrest for the past 16 months, with all bail requests filed to date being denied. The man's defence counsel claims to have filed several com- plaints with the prison authori- ties but that promises to address the issue seems to have remained unfulfilled, despite Vella offering to pay for his food himself. Contacted for his reply to the inmate's claims, prison director Robert Brincau explained that Vella's complaint was something of a bolt from the blue, as well as a rarity. "We found out [about the hun- ger strike] on the 26th and the story came out in the news on the 27th." "It is a one-off. We haven't had any complaints about food for over 4 months, apart from minor gripes," Brincat said. The director explained that the procedure in such cases was not to discuss the contentious issue with the inmate until the hunger strike was over. "First of all, he must stop the hunger strike for us to begin the discussion. Secondly, when he does this, it does not mean that we will necessarily accept his de- mands." "Every request by our prisoners is discussed by the administra- tion and we are trying to estab- lish the underlying problem." Such issues could be resolved through an established proce- dure, Brincau stressed. "This was something which spiked all of a sudden. Complaints about food are minimal and usually frivo- lous." "We are waiting for him to stop his hunger strike so that we may resolve the matter through dis- cussion," the director said. Director Robert Brincau says Jamie Vella's complaint on prison's food quality a one-off at the Corradino Correctional Facility CCF director Robert Brincau NICOLE MEILAK WITH the war in Ukraine push- ing prices up, Labour MEP Al- fred Sant insists the EU needs a fallback position on its European Green Deal and rethink how it will find the funds and energy to see the deal through. Speaking with journalists, Sant pointed out that rising ener- gy prices spurred by the war in Ukraine will create problems for the Green Deal. "Gas supplies have been clamped down. But to do the Gren Deal you need funds. In order to change over on that ba- sis, funds are going to be hard to find. I think there's a serious prospect that the Green Deal will have to be delayed," Sant said. He added that if Russia cuts more supplies it will be increas- ingly difficult for countries like Bulgaria and Romania to make a switch. More so, the EU's dis- trust in nuclear energy could create more problems. "My argument is that the EU needs a fallback position on the Green Deal in terms of finance, energy, not just where but which energy, and perhaps a rethinking of nuclear." Labour MEP Josianne Cuta- jar pointed out that increasing import prices has a particular effect on the Maltese economy. "We depend on importation for a lot of essential goods. We saw these spiralling prices in energy from before the war. Now with the war there are more concerns in place." "We depend on importation for wheat and other essential supplies, it could mean further challenges for our SMEs, busi- nesses, and an end-effect on the consumer." Despite an agreement from the Maltese government to assist in importing grain, Cutajar said that this aspect still needs to be tackled. "We need a contingency plan that takes into account the reali- ty of certain islands and member states like ours that depend on imports by sea and air." Golden passports When the war in Ukraine first broke out, eyes turned to Malta's golden passports scheme. The scheme is popular among Rus- sian nationals, but government suspended all applications from Russian and Belarusian nation- als due to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The EU was never keen on the golden passports scheme. In 2020 the European Commission launched infringement proce- dures against Malta and Cyprus over their respective schemes. Earlier this year the European Parliament voted in favour of a legislative proposal that asks Brussels to propose a law to shut down citizenship-by-investment schemes. "I don't like the passport scheme myself," Sant said. "But I think the Maltese and Cypriot governments are perfectly enti- tled, legally, to institute it." "You get residence schemes in places like Portugal and France. In Austria they give citizenship in a closed system for any kind of reason. Nobody talks about that. So yes, I think it's a matter of two weights, two measures. They don't trust small countries with what they trust big countries." Cutajar agreed that the relevant schemes are within the rights of the member states in question, adding that it is essential for stringent procedures to be in place throughout the scheme. "Bigger countries have greater leverage; this happens not just in residency schemes but in other aspects and infringement proce- dures taken vis-a-vis the various member states on other topics." This article is part of a content series called Ewropej. This is a multi-newsroom initiative part-funded by the European Parliament to bring the work of the EP closer to the citizens of Malta and keep them informed about matters that affect their daily lives. These articles reflect only the authors' view. The European Parliament is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains. With war, EU needs fallback position on Green Deal Labour MEPs Alfred Sant and Josianne Cutajar explore the different ways the war in Ukraine could affect Malta and the wider bloc