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EU talks with Ukraine should not stop – Prime Minister
Despite its decision to halt talks with Europe, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat says EU must not give up on Ukraine.
29 November 2013, 12:00am
Staff Reporter
Staff Reporter
2 min read
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat with Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker
Ukraine's decision to halt talks with the European Union days before a bilateral pact was to be signed should not stop Brussels from engaging Kiev in talks.
Addressing the plenary session of the Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said that discussions should continue. He argued that Europe was offering countries in the East access to the single market, "and an inspiration to young people which cannot always be calculated by pounds, shillings and pence".
Muscat insisted that the future of Europe lies in integration.
"We cannot say that the European Union is surrounded by the easiest of neighbours," he said. "We have proof of that today in the East, but it is also evident in our region...the South".
Referring to the "invisible guests at the table", Muscat said more dialogue should take place.
Ukraine has pulled out of signing an association agreement with the EU. European officials are now blaming Russian president Vladimir Putin for convincing Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich against the deal.
A resolution adopted by the Ukrainian government said it would "suspend the process" of concluding the deal. It ordered a new "active dialogue" to revive soured trade relations with Russia, focusing on a customs union which the Kremlin is pushing as an alternative, the Financial Times reports.
Kiev's decision sparked protests, with Ukrainians demanding the president's resignation.
Many protesters holding Ukrainian and EU flags tore pictures of Yanukovych, who ditched the free trade pact with the EU at today's summit in Vilnius.
Joseph Muscat told his European counterparts that the Ukranians' reaction showed that the deal may be delayed but not stopped.
Muscat insisted that he considered himself as "a good friend" of Ukraine and that Europe should turn a blind eye.
"Europe cares about Ukraine. Today's disappointment should be a positive starting point for discussions," Muscat said.
He urged Ukraine to give a clear signal that it was ready to embrace the co-operation agreement with the European Union and to encourage its European colleagues to avoid disengaging from such strategic partners.
"On its part, Europe must not snub Ukraine and increase dialogue with everyone... even with the invisible guests around this table," he said.
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after 'in this case Ukraine' should continue 'leaning towards Russia and.......'.
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How right the Prime Minister Dr Joseph Musct was in foreseeing what the PN leader's Dr Simon Busuttil and his stooges would be doing to-day after his address speech at the Vilnius summit. Dr Busuttil would to-day probably be aired on some foreign TV station and his stooges would be smearing Malta's name in foreign media saying that Dr Muscat is dragging Malta back to the seventies for his support to countries, in this case Ukraine, leaning towards Russia and its ideologies and not the European Union. But Dr Muscat foreseeing how they would be interpreting his speech and knowing that he was right in what he was saying obtained the concurrence of his European counterparts at the summit. This is another proof of how much Malta is not trusted by the other EU States.
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How right the Prime Minister Dr Joseph Musct was in foreseeing what the PN leader's Dr Simon Busuttil and his stooges would be doing to-day after his address speech at the Vilnius summit. Dr Busuttil would to-day probably be aired on some foreign TV station and his stooges would be smearing Malta's name in foreign media say that Dr Muscat is dragging Malta back to the seventies for his support to countries, in this case Ukraine, leaning towards and its ideologies and not the European Union. But Dr Muscat foreseeing how they would be interpreting his speech and knowing that he was right in what he was saying obtained the concurrence of his European counterparts at the summit. This is another proof of how much Malta is not trusted by the other EU States.
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" Addressing the Pleanary session of the Eastern Partnership session in Vilnius........ " ! Remember those who used to say, prior to the EU referendum - that " Partnership with the EU does not exist " ??????
No wonder so many thousands of Maltese voters were fooled about the EU !!!
