Dr. Dietrich Kappeler, Director, Diplomatic Studies Programme, Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva.

"Malta and the European Union: Experience in Maximising Negotiating Capacity for Possible Entry into the Union."

Comments

Dr. Gonzales questioned whether investment would be attracted to Malta if it belonged to the European Union.

Dr. Kappeler responded that currently investment was regulated but that with the European Union there would be free movement of investment. As a result, Malta should be able to develop in areas such as offshore banking.

Mr. Lucio De Souza asked about uniting Malta and Cyprus.

Dr. Kappeler answered that the two countries had hoped to unite but it seemed that Malta had since surpassed Cyprus in terms of development and had therefore become less inclined toward unification.

Mr. Noguera wondered how Malta enhanced its competitiveness in terms of its information technology.

Dr. Kappeler explained that in Malta proposals for modernised telecommunications existed but these had not been fully implemented. However, it was hoped that these plans would attract investment from other countries. Still, he was not quite certain that this would give Malta such a great advantage.

Dr. Gonzales inquired about Malta's success, as a small country, with its preparations for entry into the EU.

Dr. Kappeler responded that the E.U. was helping Malta a great deal. He added that there was no language barrier as all the relevant European legislative texts had been translated and the other provisions were being handled through CD ROM technology. Information was therefore made readily accessible to them.

Ambassador Bernal then noted that technical assistance could be obtained gratis and so CARICOM should make the most of it. Additionally, he believed that CARICOM should have a trade discussion page on the Internet to facilitate continuous dissemination and consultation about trade information. He then pointed to the OAS Internet page which facilitates discussions on the FTAA.