Members of the European Parliament for Malta | |
---|---|
Observers | (2003) |
Delegation | (2004) |
6th term | (2004) |
7th term | (2009) |
8th term | (2014) |
This is a list of the 5 members of the European Parliament for Malta in the 2004 to 2009 session.
Name | National party | EP Group |
---|---|---|
John Attard Montalto | Labour Party | PES |
Simon Busuttil | Nationalist Party | EPP–ED |
David Casa | Nationalist Party | EPP–ED |
Louis Grech | Labour Party | PES |
Joseph Muscat [1] | Labour Party | PES |
National party | EP Group | Seats | ± |
---|---|---|---|
Labour Party | PES | 3 / 5 | |
Nationalist Party | EPP–ED | 2 / 5 |
Malta, officially known as the Republic of Malta, is a Southern European island country consisting of an archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. It lies 80 km (50 mi) south of Italy, 284 km (176 mi) east of Tunisia, and 333 km (207 mi) north of Libya. With a population of about 475,000 over an area of 316 km2 (122 sq mi), Malta is the world's tenth smallest and fifth most densely populated sovereign country. Its capital is Valletta, which is the smallest national capital in the European Union by area at 0.8 km2 (0.31 sq mi). The official and national language is Maltese, which is descended from Sicilian Arabic that developed during the Emirate of Sicily, while English serves as the second official language.
The politics of Malta takes place within a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Malta is the constitutional head of state. Executive Authority is vested in the President of Malta with the general direction and control of the Government of Malta remaining with the Prime Minister of Malta who is the head of government and the cabinet. Legislative power is vested in the Parliament of Malta which consists of the President of Malta and the unicameral House of Representatives of Malta with the Speaker presiding officer of the legislative body. Judicial power remains with the Chief Justice and the Judiciary of Malta. Since Independence, the party electoral system has been dominated by the Christian democratic Nationalist Party and the social democratic Labour Party.
The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures.
The Partnership for Peace (PfP) is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) program aimed at creating trust between NATO and other states in Europe and the former Soviet Union; 21 states are members. It was first discussed by the Bulgarian Society Novae, after being proposed as an American initiative at the meeting of NATO defense ministers in Travemünde, Germany, on October 20–21, 1993, and formally launched on January 10–11, 1994 at the NATO summit in Brussels, Belgium. According to declassified U.S. State Department records, President Bill Clinton characterized the Partnership for Peace as a "track that will lead to NATO membership" and that "does not draw another line dividing Europe a few hundred miles to the east."
The Labour Party, formerly known as the Malta Labour Party (MLP), is a social-democratic political party in Malta. Along with the Nationalist Party (PN), the Labour Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in Malta. Since the March 2013 general election, the party has been the governing party in the Maltese House of Representatives. The Labour Party is a member of the Party of European Socialists, and was a member of the Socialist International until December 2014.
Public Broadcasting Services Limited (PBS) is the public broadcaster of Malta. PBS is funded by government grants and the sale of commercial airtime. Its TVM channel is Malta's most watched television channel, and its radio station Magic Malta enjoys huge popularity among local and tourist listeners.
Malta elects on a national level 6 MEPs representing Malta in the European Parliament, on a district level the legislature, On a local level the Local Councils and on a community level the Administrative Committees.
Joseph Muscat, is a Maltese politician who served as Prime Minister of Malta from 2013 to 2020, and Leader of the Partit Laburista (PL) from June 2008 to January 2020. Muscat was re-elected as prime minister in the elections of 3 June 2017. Previously he was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2004 to 2008. He was Leader of the Opposition from October 2008 to March 2013. Muscat identifies as a progressive and liberal politician, with pro-business leanings, and has been associated with both economically liberal and socially liberal policies.
Democratic Alternative, sometimes referred to as AD – The Green Party, is a green political party in Malta. The party was initially founded by a coalition of former Labour Party members and environmental activists in 1989.
Tonio Borg is a Maltese politician who was the European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy replacing John Dalli as member of the College of the European Commission in the second Barroso Commission. Borg is a conservative and a Roman Catholic.
General elections were held in Malta on Saturday, 8 March 2008 alongside local elections. The governing Nationalist Party won a narrow victory over the Malta Labour Party.
Angelo "Anġlu" Farrugia is a Maltese politician is the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Malta. Previously he served Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, a Member of Parliament and Shadow Minister for work, workers' rights and parliamentary affairs.
Edward Scicluna is an economist and Finance Minister of Malta. He is a Member of Parliament elected on behalf of the Maltese Labour Party.
George William Vella, is a Maltese politician and the 10th and current President of Malta. He was Malta's Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1996 to 1998, under Prime Minister Alfred Sant, and under Prime Minister Joseph Muscat from 2013 to 2017. He was inaugurated as the 10th President of Malta on 4 April 2019.
The Parliament of Malta is the constitutional legislative body in Malta, located in Valletta. The parliament is unicameral, with a democratically elected House of Representatives and the President of Malta. By Constitutional law, all government ministers, including the Prime Minister, must be members of the House of Representatives.
Jason Azzopardi is a Maltese politician. He graduated as Doctor of Laws with a master's degree in financial services from the University of Malta in 1996 and that year he started practicing as a private criminal lawyer in the courts of Malta.
The Parliament House is the meeting place of the Parliament of Malta located in Valletta, Malta. The building was constructed between 2011 and 2015 to designs by Renzo Piano as part of the City Gate Project, which also included building a new City Gate and converting the ruins of the Royal Opera House into an open-air theatre. Construction of the Parliament House generated considerable controversy, mainly due to the modern design of the building and the cost of construction, which amounted to around €90 million.
The Democratic Party is a centrist to centre-left political party in Malta. It was founded in 2016 after a split from the Labour Party.
Robert Abela is a Maltese lawyer and politician, currently serving as the 14th prime minister of Malta. A Member of Parliament since 2017, he replaced Joseph Muscat as Leader of the Labour Party following the party's internal leadership election held on 11 January 2020, and was instated as prime minister on 13 January. Abela is the son of George Abela, the eighth president of Malta.