Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1533584
2 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 23 MARCH 2025 NEWS JAMES DEBONO jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The Prime Minister made the commit- ment to several European leaders in a meeting on migration on the fringes of the EU summit held in Brussels. The statement came like a bolt from the blue for many within government since the priorities Malta had announced for its pres- idency contained no such undertaking. In February, Foreign Minister Ian Borg appeared in a joint press conference with Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset to outline the issues Malta will be fo- cussing on. Borg had said Malta's presidency will fo- cus on youth empowerment, the protec- tion of children, combating violence and discrimination and safeguarding human rights. Convention reform was not on the list. "Saying that Malta will put convention reform on the agenda comes as a surprise but is also unthinkable because it implies fiddling with the human rights and funda- mental freedoms as enshrined for the past 75 years," a source close to government, who was granted anonymity to be able to speak freely, told MaltaToday. The Department of Information press release on the migration meeting quoted Abela saying there was agreement in the meeting on the need to hold discussions on the possibility of reforming European con- ventions to reflect modern-day realities. The DOI statement also quoted the Prime Minister saying other leaders were interest- ed in Malta's proposal to put this reform on the agenda of the Council of Europe when it takes over the presidency in May. It is unclear what 'European conventions' the leaders were referring to when speaking on the need for reform. But if the DOI state- ment reflected Abela's words correctly, he left no room for ambiguity when referring to Malta's presidency of the Council of Eu- rope – the convention that matters in this forum is the European Convention of Hu- man Rights. "Nobody in government knew the Prime Minister would propose reforming the hu- man rights convention, something that is so sensitive and controversial," the source said. The context within which Abela floated his proposal was a discussion on "innova- tive solutions" to curb irregular migration, which means outsourcing detention cen- tres to third countries for rejected asylum seekers. The meeting was hosted by the Netherlands, Italy and Denmark and be- sides Abela, it was attended by the prime ministers of Czechia, Sweden and Belgium. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was also present. The idea to outsource detention centres has been criticised by human rights organ- isations since it risks eroding the rights of asylum seekers. The Council of Europe is a pan-Europe- an body, unrelated to the EU. CoC member states have to ratify the European Conven- tion of Human Rights to be able to join. Malta ratified the convention in January 1967. The convention will be 75-years-old in November since it was opened for sig- nature in Rome on 4 November 1950 and remains the single most important instru- ment protecting human rights across Eu- rope. This was the second occasion in as many months that Abela caught his own gov- ernment by surprise. Last month, in Paris, Abela gave a comment to TVM in which he said Malta needed to increase its de- fence spending and questioned whether neutrality was being a limiting factor and whether it was time to have a discussion on the matter. His comments raised eyebrows with the Labour Party and during a radio interview deputy leader Alex Agius Saliba was cate- gorical that "Labour will in no way be weak- ening neutrality". He even attempted to interpret what Ab- ela meant. "Robert Abela said he wanted 'discussion'. I would have said 'discussion to strengthen neutrality', because that's what he [Abela] meant," Agius Saliba said while acknowledging that the issue had never been raised by Abela in Labour parliamen- tary group meetings. In the weeks that followed, Abela back pedalled on his words. Abela's idea for human rights convention reform like a bolt from the blue 11-storey Spinola hotel recommended for refusal THE Planning Directorate is recommending the refusal of an 11-storey hotel proposed in place of the modernist HSBC branch in San Ġiljan. The main reason for the recom- mended refusal is the creation of a blank party wall overlooking Triq San Ġorg and Spinola Bay. The development is being pro- posed under the Height Limita- tion Adjustment Policy for Hotels, which allows developers to add two additional floors above the height limit applicable to the area. The policy stipulates that "no blank walls are to be created." However, the case officer noted that a Visual Assessment present- ed by the developer confirmed that the proposal will result in an extensive blank party wall over- looking Triq San Ġorg, which is also visible from long-range views from Spinola Bay. The project architect justified this by referring to a previous permit issued on an adjacent site, which will have the same height. In November 2024, the Super- intendence for Cultural Heritage (SCH) also withdrew its objection on the basis that an adjacent ho- tel with a similar height, approved two years ago, had altered the ar- ea's context. However, the case officer noted that not enough has been done to mitigate the impact of the ex- posed blank party wall, which is being treated with a rendered design. This design included the use of beige and light brown paint with touches of turquoise along window-like structures engraved on the wall. Nonetheless, the Planning Di- rectorate is of the opinion that the proposed blank party wall is likely to have a negative visual impact on the existing streetscape and urban context, and that adequate step- ping should be considered to treat any possible blank party walls. This suggests that the develop- ment could still be approved if it is stepped down. The Planning Commission will discuss the development pro- posed by Grahame Salt's Berkeley Investments on 1 April. The SCH also originally called for integrating the modernist bank façade into the new devel- opment. However, after architect Richard England, who designed the original building, stated that he had no objections to its demo- lition, the SCH dropped its stance on retaining the bank's façade. Photomontage showing the proposed hotel and an adjacent development approved two years ago. The montage shows the treatment of the blank party wall with design features and the use of different colours. Robert Abela (second from left) with several European leaders in a meeting in Brussels