The war from Russia against Ukraine is a war against Europe, “against our values”, the President of the European People’s Party, Manfred Weber, said to journalists as he spoke alongside Nationalist Party Leader Bernard Grech after the conclusion of the EPP’s assembly in Malta.
Weber was asked if he believes it is inevitable that Europe will be forced into a war with Russia, to which he said that the reality of the situation is that there is a borderline between dictatorship and the free world. He stated that “Russia, Putin, has sent hundreds of thousands of young Russians to death”, remarking that this has only been done in order to occupy another country and be imperialistic again. He continued that there are now North Korean soldiers fighting Europeans on European soil, and added that this is why it is “our conflict”.
The EPP President said that if the conflict is to be kept away from Malta and other European nations, then the support towards Ukraine needs to be strengthened so that “they win this battle against dictatorship”. He stated that this is why the EPP is strict on this matter, as he commented that the EPP wants to be the peace party, adding that peace can only be achieved if Putin feels that he cannot win.
Speaking about the EPP’s political assembly in Malta, PN Leader Grech said that the “EPP family” came together to discuss internal matters and matters of policy. He remarked that it was a great pleasure and honour that it was in Malta where the EPP finalised the way forward regarding the new Commissioner for the Mediterranean. “The PN has provided the space and the opportunity for these discussions to take place and finalise the way forward for the good of all Mediterranean countries, including Malta,” he said.
Grech added that the opportunity to host this assembly provided the PN with an excellent forum to build stronger relationships and better bonds. He said that the PN and EPP’s policies and politics are built around strong bonds between members, and that it is onto these values that a stronger Europe is built.
“We are in a decisive moment for Europe,” Weber commented, continuing that the next Commission will be voted on next week, “Where the start for implementing the policies will begin.” He said that as the biggest party of the European Union, the meeting in Malta was a key moment for the EPP in defining the strategy for the next five years.
Weber said that the EPP is taking two key elements from Malta, with the first being that there has to be much more focus on the Mediterranean. “Yesterday we had our friends from Morocco and Lebanon here in a very difficult moment in time, and we were considering the next step to go.” He added that the future Commissioner responsible for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Šuica from Croatia, was also present at the assembly.
“The key people who will drive this issue were in Valletta and discussed this issue… The ‘Valletta spirit’ will be driving the Mediterranean pact for the next five years,” he said.
The EPP President continued that the second element taken from Malta, “especially initiated by Bernard Grech,” is to underline the importance of quality in life in different elements, such as healthcare, security, transport, and infrastructure. He said that the issues faced in Malta are now put on the European level. Weber remarked that Valletta was a starting point for the five-year period for the EPP.
Asked by journalists about whether the PN is respecting the rule of law by not disclosing party donations, Grech replied that the PN is the party that believes in the rule of law “and will continue fighting for the rule of law against a Labour Party which believes that it can continue to do whatever it wants”.
Grech said that there is a clear case of two Ministers who continue to do whatever they want with a “weak Prime Minister who cannot control them”. He was referring to a Standards Commissioner report which found that Clayton Bartolo and Clint Camilleri were found to have abused their power when Bartolo’s girlfriend at the time Amanda Muscat, who is now his wife, was given a consultancy job within the Ministry for Gozo which she had no qualifications for and did not do.
The Opposition Leader commented that the PN understands its responsibilities, but that the “Labour Party has a weak Prime Minister who has lost control of his Ministers”. Grech said that two Labour MPs have now voted against the Ministers in question and confirmed that they breached ethics.
Replying to the same question, Weber said that from a European point of view, the EPP wants to focus on the concerns of the people. He continued that there are “a lot of real, big concerns in front of us” and that “probably here in Malta, the economic situation is not so bad, but European-wide we are talking about rescuing the European industry at this moment, bringing back control about the external border, and winning a war against Russia.”
