EU Fiscal Compact: government wants to bypass parliament

A bill to amend the European Act that will start to be debated today in parliament shows that government wants to by pass parliament completely about the signing and ratification of the EU Fiscal Compact by Malta.

Other national parliaments in the EU will be discussing the EU Fiscal Compact about obligations to have balanced budgets and measures taken by the EU against member states that run excessive deficits, but the Maltese government wants the EU Fiscal Compact to be introduced automatically as part of the European Act about Malta’s membership of the EU without the need to go through the parliamentary process.

The short bill says that it is enough for the Prime Minister to declare the EU Fiscal Compact as part of the EU Treaty for it to bind Malt automatically and without any parliamentary scrutiny and approval: "If the Prime Minister by order declares that a treaty specified in the order being a treaty entered into by Malta after the 16th April, 2003, or that a decision specified in the order, being a decision that amends the Treaty, is to be regarded as one with the Treaty as herein defined, the order shall be conclusive that it is to be so regarded".