‘No room for euro-sceptic candidates’ – Joseph Cuschieri

The two main political parties should refrain from presenting candidates with euro-sceptic credentials, MEP Joseph Cuschieri said in an interview with Sunday newspaper Illum. 

“In some interviews given recently, worrying declarations of a euro-sceptic nature were made by some candidates which did not go well with the European parties. We always safeguard national interest, but one should also aliign himself with the European parties as well,” Joseph Cuschieri said.

Cuschieri pointed out that a vote on abortion taken this week was not in line with Malta’s stand, and despite the Socialist’s Party pressure, he and the Labour delegation had no problem to vote accordingly.

“In every vote we take, we keep in mind six factors: the government’s interest, the domestic party’s beliefs, the stand of your European group, the NGOs and lobbyists, the stand of your delegation and your own conscience. Unfortunately, in the past months the Opposition sought to score political points by putting domestic issues for discussion on a European level.”

In the interview, Cuschieri reveals that when he renounced his parliamentary seat in 2009, he did so in order to avoid a split within the party.

“It was a delicate period for the party, we needed a leader to reunite it since the party was divided in several factions. I did what I believed was best for the party’s interest,” the head of Labour’s delegation said.

Asked about his candidature for next year’s EP elections, Joseph Cuschieri said that news about his candidature will only be made public after discussions with Labour’s leadership.

However he pledged his loyalty to serve “wherever his contribution would be needed”, while not excluding a possible return to Malta’s parliament where he already served for 10 years, prior to his MEP experience.

Read more in today’s issue of Illum.