The Libyan Prime Minister Fajez al-Sarraj paid an unexpected visit to Malta where he had a meeting with the Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat. Both sides discussed the situation in Tripoli and the negative impact that the fighting is having on the Libyan people. This was the second visit of Fajez al-Sarraj this year after another visit to Malta last January.

Fajez al-Sarraj government is recognized by the United Nations.  During the discussions with the Maltese government, said he discussed the present situation in Libya, and expressed the hope that the Maltese Government assists him to overcome the challenges facing his country.

Prime Minister Muscat said that the Maltese Government considers the Libyan people as a friend and promised that the government will always be there to assist the Libyan people.  Muscat confirmed his willingness to discuss ways the Maltese Government can help to restore peace and prosperity in Libya.

The President of Malta George Vella has already expressed his grave concern at the unfolding situation in Libya. Last April, few days after he took office, Vella said the situation in Libya shows the hypocrisy of the international community for not taking a decisive action as fighting engulfs Libya. While he referred to the high number of casualties, Vella appealed to a political solution in order to safeguard the best interest of the Libyan people and to avoid a human disaster.

General commander Khalifa Haftar who leads the Libyan National Army, based in Eastern Libya is refusing to stop military attacks on Tripoli and is accused by the United Nations of looking to divide Libya. The attacks on Tripoli began in April and General Haftar is looking to gain control of the Libyan capital. By now, it is estimated that over 500 people and 75,000 civilians fled their homes because of the fighting.

(ITALPRESS/MNA)

Source: medNews

The final result of Malta’s fourth European elections confirms a landslide victory for the Labour Party of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat with an absolute majority of 55.9 percent; around 50,000 votes more than the Nationalist Party led by Adrian Delia.

This result guarantees four seats for the Labour Party in the European Parliament while the Nationalist Opposition has lost one seat as predicted in the latest opinion polls published before Saturday’s election. As the smallest member nation of the European Union, Malta is allocated six Euro-parliamentarians. Miriam Dalli, Alfred Sant, Josianne Cutajar and Alex Agius Saliba were elected for the Labour Party. It is the first time for Cutajar and Agius Saliba to be elected. Roberta Metsola and David Casa secured their parliamentary seats for the Nationalist Party.

The small parties mainly of far-right ideology registered an impressive support in these elections with 8 percent of the vote. Migration was high on the national agenda during the electoral campaign.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat addressed a large crowd of party supporters gathered in front of the Labour Party Headquarters in Hamrun. He said that this is the moment for national unity. While congratulating the four Labour MEPs, he also appealed to the two elected Nationalist Euro-parliamentarians to be ready to work hard together in favour of Malta and Europe.

The Maltese Prime Minister said that this electoral result, the largest in the country’s political history, casts a much greater responsibility on his government and to remain close to the people.

In a televised addressed on the Nationalist Party station, the Leader of the Opposition accepted the defeat and made it clear that he has no intention of resigning. Adrian Delia made it clear that his target is the 2022 general election. He said that the party will continue to work hard to understand and explore ways why this happened. “We want to be better than ever, we want to see more new faces of people who believe in our vision,” stressed Delia. He concluded by saying that the process has already started and the Nationalist Party can never lose heart.

(ITALPRESS/MNA)

Source: medNews

Sources close to the Labour Party led by Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat are claiming a record victory of over 50,000 votes in the European Parliamentary elections.

Official statistics issued by the Electoral Commission, show that the poorest turnouts were in the Nationalist Party strongholds. The turnout of yesterday’s European election is 70.1 per cent, four per cent less than five years ago.

332,888 people were eligible to vote in yesterday’s European election contested by 41 candidates, mostly on the Labour and the Nationalist tickets. In a tweet late last night, Joseph Muscat thanked all those who voted and participated in the European and Local Councils elections. He also the thanked all Labour candidates and volunteers for their tireless work.

(ITALPRESS/MNA)

Source: medNews

Just over 332,000 Maltese are eligible to vote in today’s election for the European Parliament. Six representatives must be elected from a total of 41 candidates, the largest number of candidates ever contested for the European Parliament elections in Malta. The Labour Party in Government is expected to win with a sound majority and elect four out of six European Parliamentary seats allocated to Malta. 

The Labour Party has 14 candidates, there are 10 candidates on the Nationalist Party ticket, the Democratic Party is contesting with 4 candidates. The Green Party (Alternattiva Demokratika), the Alliance for Change (Alleanza Bidla) and the Maltese Patriotic Movement (Moviment Patrijotti Maltin) have two candidates each. There are seven more representing other small parties or contesting as independent candidates.

Today, the Maltese are also voting to elect new administrations in 68 Local Councils.  341,000 are eligible to vote in the local elections.

This is the first time in which 16 year olds are taking part in a nationwide election. All polling stations opened at 7am and will remain open until 10pm. The vote counting will start on Sunday morning and an electronic vote counting system will give an early indication of which political party gained the most votes.

Citizens from member states who reside in Malta and registered with the Electoral Commission can also vote for Maltese candidates contesting the European elections. There are 18,375 who can do so, mostly British with just over 6,000. After the British, the largest amount of foreigners who chose to vote in Malta, are the Italians with more than 4,000; followed by Bulgarians, Germans and Romanians. Only one national from Luxembourg who resides in Malta registered to vote here.

Considered among the largest democratic exercises in the world, the European Parliament elections take place in 28 member states of the European Union on various dates between Thursday and Sunday. Like Malta, today voting is underway in three other countries: Latvia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The majority of countries vote tomorrow. A total of 751 Europarliamentarians are to be elected. More than 400 million people are eligible to vote.

The last polling stations close at 11pm tomorrow in Italy. In Malta, the Electoral Commission estimates that up to that time the whole counting process will be concluded and will be able to announce the official result.

(ITALPRESS/MNA)

Source: medNews

The electoral campaign in Malta for the European Parliament and local councils elections came to an end at midnight last night ahead of tomorrow’s voting. The two main political parties, the Labour Party in government and the Opposition Nationalist Party rallied their supporters to put their last political message across the country and to gather voter’s support.

According to the latest statistics issued by the Electoral Commission, there was an increase in those eligible to vote and did not collect their voting document. Thus, it is expected a less turnout for both the European Parliament and local councils elections when compared to the previous election. However, this will not change the outcome of the results, as the Labour Party is still the favourite to net close to 55 percent of the votes in the European elections. It is unlikely for the  Nationalist Party to keep the third MEP from a total of six seats allocated to Malta.

The Leader of the Opposition Adrian Delia addressed a rally on the last day of the electoral campaign with the slogan ‘Together For Our Country’ in front of the Nationalist Party Headquarters in ?amrun. He said that whatever the outcome of the European and Local Council elections, the Nationalist Party is already committed to work harder and be closer to families and the vulnerable who were not benefiting from the economic wealth Malta is registering. “Our journey starts on Monday whatever the people’s verdict is. From Monday my colleagues and I will work harder to earn the respect of voters.” 

Adrian Delia appealed to the Maltese electorate to vote to all Nationalists candidates as a sign of disapproval with the way the Labour Party is governing the country. He referred to various national and international damning reports conducted by local and European institutions condemning the Labour Party in government on corruption, the rule of law and the take over of Maltese institutions. The Leader of the Opposition also said that a vote for the Labour Party would mean a vote to the Socialists in the European Parliament who are proposing the introduction of tax harmonization and the right to abortion.

Addressing a large crowd in Vittoriosa, Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat spoke about how Malta has made great changes over the last six years of Labour government and therefore the judgment on election day is clear; a choice between Muscat and Adrian Delia.

Joseph Muscat mentioned various initiatives taken by his government including the reduction in electricity and water bills, the reduction in taxes, the reduction in poverty and an increase in pensions and the minimum wage. This along with a record number of unemployment and a record of people engaged in the labour market.

The Maltese Prime Minister spoke about a number of other challenges including better work and equality, mentioning in particular that it is unacceptable that a woman is paid less than a man. He said the Labour government will push forward reforms so that more women will be elected in the national parliament.

“My appeal is to vote for all the Labour candidates. Five years ago we have achieved a majorty of 33,000 votes. On election day, vote early and vote for all the candidates on the Labour Party ticket. We changed the country and we will be the change for Malta. On Saturday, I will be at the forefront to choose between Joseph Muscat and Adrian Delia,” concluded the Maltese Prime Minister.

(ITALPRESS/MNA)

 

Source: medNews

One week ahead of the European Parliamentary elections in Malta, the gap between the Labour Party of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and the Nationalist Party in Opposition led by Adrian Delia is 19.6 percent for the Labour Party. With an expected turnout of about 70 percent, this will result 50,000 votes in favour of the Labour Party.

The Labour Party is expected to win four parliamentary seats out of six; which means the Nationalist Party, member of the Popular Party, will lose a parliamentary seat. It is expected a tight run for the second Nationalist’s parliamentary seat.

The prediction of the outcome of the European Parliament elections in Malta is, 56.9 per cent for the Labour Party, the Nationalist Party will get 37.3 percent of the votes, the green party Alternattiva Demokratika will get 2 percent, 1.7 percent vote will go to the far-right party Imperium Europa, 1.1 per cent for the Democratic Party and 1.1 per cent vote for other parties and independent candidates.

According to the latest poll, the Labour Party managed to increase the gap with the Nationalist Party by 8.2 per cent over the last election. The Labour Party has increased the gap mainly because there are more Nationalists that say will not go to vote, or ready to vote for other parties. The Maltese vote less for the European Parliament election when compared to the general election. Indeed the turnout usually is about 75% of the eligible voters.

The recent arrest of two Armed Forces of Malta soldiers charged with the cold-blooded murder of a migrant from Ivory Coast dominated the election campaign over the weekend. The Opposition has requested for an independent inquiry into how one of the accused was engaged in the Armed Forces of Malta while serving a bail sentence. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat appealed to the Maltese society to embrace integration of foreigners including migrants.

(ITALPRESS/MNA)

Source: medNews

A week from the elections that will see the citizens of the archipelago state elect their representatives to the European Parliament and the local councils (the equivalent of Italian municipalities), the electoral battle continues amid crossed attacks, rallies and particular initiatives put in place by some candidates.

Parliamentary activity was suspended until after the election at the initiative of the majority, a choice motivated by the fact that participation in parliamentary sessions was considerably diminished due to the numerous campaign activities. The opposition strongly criticized this choice, defined by the leader of the Nationalist Party Adrian Delia as a move that endangers the country’s democracy. Among the accusations made against the majority, also the fact that the decision was taken suddenly, without prior discussion with the opposition, and on the eve of an important parliamentary debate that provided for the discussion on the finances and on the work done by the Embryo Protection Authority.

 

The Labour Party, frontrunner in the polls, has implemented a particularly intense campaign, full of activities that have involved – or will involve in the coming days – all the towns of the country. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat is dedicating himself to these initiatives, accompanied from time to time by prominent members of the party, together with candidates for the European elections and for local councils.

The Nationalist Party, divided internally and with a leadership that cannot hold the party together, continues to show its difficulties even during the electoral campaign.

The local media have highlighted, on several occasions, the disparity in spending between parties, with the Labour Party investing more resources than the Nationalist Party, and even among candidates. Some of the latter have put in place very specific initiatives. For example, two candidates organized a lottery. The first prizes are a car and a vacation, respectively.

The difference in investment in the electoral campaign reflects the state of finance of the two main parties. In particular, the Nationalist Party is also facing a period of financial crisis, while the Labour Party has more economic resources, which also derive from the citizens’ great response to fundraising organized by the majority party.

 

Just seven days from the vote, the polls are stable, and predict a clear victory for the Labour party, expected to win – for the first time – four of the six Maltese seats in the European Parliament. The Labour Party is affiliated with European socialists, while the Nationalist Party identifies itself with the European People’s Party, which currently holds a majority in the Strasbourg Assembly. The elections in Malta will take place on Saturday 25 May 2019.

(ITALPRESS/MNA)

 

Source: medNews

The statistical data issued by the Department of Statistics indicate that the value of total exports reached JD 857.7 million during January and February 2019 [i.e., an increase by 9.8% compared with the same period of 2018]. The national exports value reached JD.721.4 Million during January and February 2019 [i.e. an increase by 11.4% compared with the same period of 2018]. The value of re-exports reached JD 136.3 million during January and February 2019 which indicates an increase by 2.5% as compared with the same period of 2018.

The imports value reached JD 2242.9 million during January and February 2019, thus decreasing by (1.8%) compared with the same period of 2018.

The deficit in the trade balance has reached JD 1385.2 million therefore; the deficit has decreased during January and February 2019 by (7.8%) compared with the same period of 2018. The imports coverage by total exports has become 38.2% during January and February 2019 while it was 34.2% for the same period of 2018, which means an increase by 4.0 percentage points.

(ITALPRESS/MNA)

 

Source: medNews

Last Tuesday Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed urged Italy, as a member of the European
Union (EU), to support Tunisia’s request to be removed from the European list of high-risk money laundering and funding countries of terrorism.

The meetings between Italian and Tunisian representatives were held during the visit to Tunis by Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and a large delegation of Ministers, for the signing of
seven cooperation agreements between Italy and Tunisia.

“Tunisia relies on Italian support to help it obtain a favorable EU response, to its request to introduce a common management of the annual tariff quota for olive oil, in order to promote the
export of Tunisian olive on the European market “, added Youssef Chahed at the closure of the Tunisian-Italian economic forum.

Addressing the Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, the head of government expressed the desire to see the EU effectively implement the principles that govern the negotiations under the free trade agreement (ALECA). It also urged the Italian government to support his government in its efforts to increase the number of Italian tourists in Tunisia, which in his opinion do not yet meet
the ambitions.

For his part, the Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte expressed the desire to strengthen economic cooperation with Tunisia, in particular in terms of investments in order to provide social
stability and promote growth to stem the flow of irregular migration. ” Italy wants to implement all the favorable conditions for an advantageous collaboration with Tunisia in many sectors,
including mainly infrastructure, energy, industry and technology, “said Conte, recalling that 900 Italian companies are currently established in Tunisia, generating around 68 thousand jobs. “This
number makes Italy the second largest foreign investor in Tunisia,” said the Italian Prime Minister.
The head of the Tunisian government Chahed Youssef and Giuseppe Conte, President of the Italian Council of Ministers signed the joint declaration of the first meeting of the strategic Superior Council between Tunisia and Italy, focusing on the prospects for bilateral partnership for the period to come.

Another agreement was signed between Tunisia and Italy in order to strengthen the
Elmed electricity transmission infrastructure to promote energy exchanges between Europe and North Africa. According to Prime Minister Youssef Chahed, this agreement will allow the Tunisian
electricity and gas company and the Italian energy company to effectively start the project by 2023.

Financed by the European Union for 600 million euro, the project received a first tranche, with an Italian contribution of 5 million euro to develop the studies necessary for the realization
of this project.
Furthermore, an agreement was signed between Tunisia and Italy for the conversion of a second quota of Tunisian debts into investment projects worth 25 million euros from 2020 to finance part of the integrated development project at El Mohdeth in the delegation of El Faouar. This project consists of the development of 1000 hectares for palm plantation with a budget of 155 million dinars. Italy has paid 500 thousand euro to finance the specific study of this project.

A memorandum of understanding was also signed on improving infrastructure and school services in primary schools with a credit of 25 million euros, as well as a memorandum of
understanding on the implementation of a program to strengthen decentralization in Tunisia and a gift of 25 million euros for the construction and equipping of 31 new municipalities and the
signing of a memorandum of understanding between the foreign ministries of Tunisia and Italy regarding diplomatic training as well as a memorandum of understanding on the project of the
Italian-Tunisian savings account.

Finally, the Tunisian foreign minister Khemaies Jhinaoui had a meeting with his Italian counterpart, Enzo Moavero During a joint press conference held after the meeting, Jhinaoui said: “The focus was on the need to follow up on the decisions of the Italian-Tunisian High Council for the

Source: medNews

Business sentiment in Turkey showed improvement for the fourth month in a row in April, according to a survey by the Central Bank. The business confidence index increased by a strong 3.3 percent on a monthly basis to touch 105.5 in the month, the Central Bank said. That followed 5 percent, 4.5 percent and 1.6 percent increases recorded in March, February and January, respectively. Five of the business sentiment survey’s eight main sub-indices rose in April month-on-month, data from the Central Bank also showed. The sharpest increase was registered in the sub-index for total orders received over the past three months. The related index soared nearly 17 percent from the previous months to stand at 105.7 in April. The sub-index for current orders and export orders in the next three months rose by 6.4 and 7.6 percent, respectively.
(ITALPRESS/MNA).

Source: medNews