ADDRESS BY THE HON. DAVID AGIUS
HEAD OF DELEGATION
MALTA
Mr President, Colleagues, Ladies and gentlemen,
Allow me, Mr President, to join my colleagues in extending my sincere personal congratulations and those of my delegation for your election as the first president of this Euro-Med Parliamentary Assembly. The Maltese delegation’s congratulations go also to the other members of the Bureau. I also wish to express my thanks for the warm hospitality and excellent facilities extended to us by the Greek Chamber of Deputies.
I cannot also but mention my colleague and predecessor, Mrs Helen D’Amato who, though looking forward to participate in this first meeting of the Euro-Med Parliamentary Assembly, could not be amongst us today. I am sure you will join me in thanking Mrs D’Amato for her active participation during the meetings of the Forum and for her endeavours in making this Parliamentary Assembly a true reality.
Mr President,This is a historic day. The Working Programme of the 1995 Barcelona Declaration invited the European Parliament to take the initiative with other parliaments to establish a Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Dialogue which could enable the elected representatives of the partners to exchange ideas on a wide range of issues. We are all aware of what happened since then and I will not dwell on the events that led to this day. However, I cannot but point out that the preliminary steps towards the setting up of a Euro-Med Parliamentary Forum were taken in Malta in May 1998, following which the first meeting of the Forum took place in Brussels in October of that same year.
The parliamentary dimension to an inter-governmental process is indeed necessary and essential. We, as representatives of our people, are duty bound to demonstrate that we are close to the real needs of our communities and that through dialogue and understanding we can move forward together in building a secure , stable and prosperous environment. Future generations deserve that we hand them over a much better and safer world. Future generations need a world free from bad governance and civil conflict.
Unfortunately, we are still witnessing, in our region, areas of conflict that continue to hinder security, stability and prosperity. The Middle East Peace Process remains stalled and it is difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The lack of a comprehensive solution that involves two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side, continues to fuel hatred, misery and bloodshed. Both sides should engage in a serious and constructive dialogue leading towards a peaceful and secure environment for the mutual benefit of all the peoples in the area.
The suffering in Iraq continues. Peace and stability should return to Iraq as soon as possible. The country should remain united as one nation enjoying its cultural and ethnic values. The recent signing of an interim constitution is a positive sign. However, the Iraqi people need the international community, particularly through the United Nations Organisation, to engage itself in an orderly transition of power, reconstruction and economic development.
Terrorism is the scare of this century. It is inflicting great damage to our communities. Innocent lives are being lost. There is absolutely no justification whatsoever for anybody to engage in such horrible acts. In this respect, I wish to express my solidarity with our Spanish colleagues for the recent horrible acts in Madrid. Having said that, we have to explore the root causes of terrorism. We have to identify and offer solutions to problems that are encouraging terrorism.
There are also other important issues which we have to tackle and which may assist us in our search for solutions to problems that are surrounding us. Social issues, which are incorporated in the Millennium Development Goals, the respect for cultural diversity, economic and financial cooperation are all important issues that this Assembly should work upon if the Barcelona Declaration’s call for shared prosperity within the partnership is to be realized.
This is our Assembly. This is our region. Together, whether big or small, we should move forward and make of this Assembly a complete success. However, the desired results will not be achieved if a true sense of belonging to our region and to this Partnership is not forthcoming.
Mr President,Malta’s active participation in the Forum and its contribution by way of initiatives and ideas in transforming the Forum into this Assembly are recognized by all. It is for this reason, besides being a Mediterranean country par excellence and as an EU acceding country, that Malta expects to sit on one of the three parliamentary committees. The Maltese delegation, as always, will participate actively in the deliberations of this Assembly. As you very well know, Malta, along with other nine countries, will be a member of the European Union in just over a month’s time, on the 1st May.
Once more, Mr President, I congratulate you for your election as President of this Assembly and I am confident that under your able leadership we should be able to realize our objectives.
Thank You.
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