IT-TLETTAX-IL LEĠIŻLATURA P.L. 6110 Dokument imqiegħed fuq il-Mejda tal-Kamra tad-Deputati fis-Seduta Numru 433 tal-1 ta’ Marzu 2021 mill-Ministru fl-Uffiċċju tal-Prim Ministru, f’isem il-Ministru għall-Affarijiet Barranin u Ewropej. ___________________________ Raymond Scicluna Skrivan tal-Kamra KUNSILL GĦALL-MALTIN LI JGĦIXU BARRA MINN MALTA - LAQGĦAT *19522. L-ONOR. CARMELO MIFSUD BONNICI staqsa lill-Ministru għall-Affarijiet Barranin u Ewropej: Jista’ l-Ministru jgħid jekk sarux iktar laqgħat mal-Kunsilliera tal-Kunsill għall-Maltin li Jgħixu Barra minn Malta mill-aħħar laqgħa fl-2019? Jekk iva, jistgħu jitqiegħdu l-minuti fuq il-Mejda tal-Kamra? 24/02/2021 ONOR. EVARIST BARTOLO: Ninforma lill-Onor. Interpellant li matul is-sena li għaddiet (2020) u din is-sena (2021) saru żewġ laqgħat mal-Kunsilliera tal-Kunsill tal-Maltin li Jgħixu barra minn Malta. Dawn il-laqgħat saru f’forma virtwali minħabba l-pademija COVID-19 fis- 16 ta’ Ottubru 2020 u fit-3 ta’ Frar 2021 rispettivament. Filwaqt li qiegħed inpoġġi kopja tal- minuti tal-ewwel laqgħa (dik li nżammet fis-16 ta’ Ottubru 2020) fuq il-Mejda tal-Kamra, il- minuti tat-tieni laqgħa tat-3 ta’ Frar 2021 ma jistgħux ikunu mpoġġija minħabba li għad iridu jiġu approvati mill-membri tal-Kunsill. Għaldaqstant l-Onorevoli Interpellant jista’ jitlob kopja tal-istess minuti meta dawn jiġu approvati mill-Kunsill fil-laqgħa li jmiss. Seduta Numru 433 01/03/2021 Meeting of the Council for Maltese Living Abroad Meeting No. 11 Date and Time: Friday 16th October 2020 13.00 to 15.00 Venue: Virtual Meeting through TEAMS Chairman: The Hon. Evarist Bartolo, Minister for Foreign and European Affairs Councillors in attendance: Ms. Edwidge Borg Mr. Mario Sammut Ms. Marie-Louise Marisa Previtera Mr. Manweli Camilleri Ms. Mary Susan Schembri Mr. John Vassallo Mr. Kanawati Nadim Mr. Alexander Grima Mr. Brandon Azzopardi Mr. Angelo Grima Prof. Claudia Caruana Mrs. Antonella Berry Brincat Mr. Denis Muniglia Prof. JosAnn Cutajar did not manage to communicate with Meeting Secretary: Mr. Joseph A. Xerri Director for Maltese Living Abroad: Mr. John Buttigieg Ministry Officials: Mr. Roberta Zahra Dr. Antoinette Calleja Rapporteur: Ms. Bernice Zarb 1 1. Welcome by Mr. John Buttigieg and opening speech by the Honorable Evarist Bartolo, Minister for Foreign and European Affairs John Buttigieg, Director for Consular Services and Maltese Living Abroad welcomed the councillors to the redacted version of the Annual Council meeting of the Council for Maltese Living Abroad. He stated that according to the legislation establishing the Maltese Council, the latter should meet at least annually. This meeting could not be done physically due to the ongoing pandemic therefore an alternative was found through virtual means. Mr. Buttigieg introduced the Minister and mentioned the importance of the meeting as a method to keep in touch whilst also introducing the councillors to the Minister, an item at the end of the day’s agenda. The Hon. Minister opened by welcoming all the members of the Council present and thanked them for their participation and commitment to the Maltese Living Abroad. He commented on the problems caused by the pandemic which has limited face to face interaction yet has made us more aware of alternative means of communication. Technology has provided us with more methods to communicate than other traditional means. He referred to other virtual meetings which were successful, proving that there is no need to wait for the pandemic to be over for the council to satisfy the legislation which states that the council should meet at least once annually. Such virtual means have also proven useful abroad. The Minister referred to different Maltese embassies around Europe who have met and kept in contact with the Maltese Living Abroad through virtual means. An example of this is Spain which has shown positive results since the Maltese diaspora appreciated the effort taken by using virtual means to keep in touch. The Minister also referred to the importance of technology as the link to the younger generation. The Hon. Minister ended by expressing his enthusiasm in working with the councilors as well as welcoming their comments and criticisms such as the one received from Canada, which he will discuss with the relevant councilors in due time. The Hon Minister said that he would be taking in consideration the proposal put to him by Susan Schembri and Brandon Azzopardi 2. Approval of the Council for Maltese Living Abroad 2019 Annual Meeting Minutes The Council unanimously approved the Minutes of the Meeting which took place in October 2019 after the intervention from Mr. Joseph A. Xerri, Secretary Council Maltese Living Abroad, regarding the amendments to the minutes which was to be done after the meeting. 3. Presented by: Director for Maltese Living Abroad: Director’s Report Interlocutor: Mr. John Buttigieg, Director for Consular Services and Maltese Living Abroad Discussions John Buttigieg read the Directorate and CMLA Secretary Joint Report (see Attachment 1) 2 Mr. Buttigieg added some comments about the report itself namely regarding the pandemic which has taken prominence during the year, thereby asking the Councillors to take it into consideration when reading the report. Another comment referred to the Maltese Living Abroad website which in the last meeting had been agreed to be a sub-website in the short term with a full website dedicated to the Maltese Living Abroad in the long term. His last comment referred to the Maltese language project which is now envisaged to go live in the first quarter of 2021. The report was put up for discussion. Members were asked to raise any issues arising out of the report, and that Director for Maltese Living Aboard would subsequently, do his best, to respond to the points raised. Mario Sammut posed a question on the regional committees, asking if the Councillors had nominated any people for the role Joseph A. Xerri responded that there was only one response from a council member with most nominations coming from Embassies however, the rest of Australia had not been tackled yet. Edwidge Borg stated that Mr. Xerri had claimed that there was no feedback from the council members. Joseph A. Xerri responded that whilst there was some feedback, this was very poor. John Buttigieg remarked that whilst there was some feedback, more input was expected from their end. Edwidge Borg explained the reluctance of the council members in nominating a regional committee member due to the fact that the guidelines had not been finalized. John Buttigieg said that the guidelines had been finalized in the last meeting in 2019; when they were discussed and approved. That being said, Mr. Buttigieg explained that these guidelines were not set in stone and could be amended if agreed to. Edwidge Borg raised the issue of the registration of Property with the Planning Authority. John Buttigieg said that a reply had been received two weeks before from Mr. David Cassar, whose answer was in the negative. (see Attachment 2). The email stated one does not need an e-id to access the site to check about development application as this was accessible on the planning Authority 3 website. However, to access proposed drawing one would need to contact an architect who would be able to act as an intermediary. Also, matters regarding the e-ID would need to be discussed with Identity Malta not the Planning Authority since it lies within the former’s remit. Manweli Camilleri stated that the issue of the English subtitles for Maltese films had been answered in the report. He also remarked on the issue of the Bank of Valletta who has now been solved with success as people had approached him and told him that their accounts have now been settled. He thanked the people involved. Mary Susan Schembri coming back to the topic of Regional Councils asked if there had been any nominations submitted for Canada. Joseph A. Xerri replied in the negative stating that Brandon Azzopardi has discussed the matter with Dr Raymond Xerri, General Consul for Canada John Buttigieg interjected, stating that it is important that people do their part by engaging in all projects as the council must look both towards its present and its future. He asked that the people nominated are enthusiastic for the job so that they are correctly representing the spirit and vision of the diaspora. He also emphasized that the nominations would need to be done with a clear mandate from both the Ministry and the Council so that those approved would deliver to their highest potential, otherwise the purpose of the regional councils (reference to ‘councils’ is as per current legislation) would be defeated. Mary Susan Schembri proposed that she nominates a person from Alberta since she is on her own on the West side of Canada. Joseph A. Xerri replied in the affirmative as all CMLA members were given the opportunity of nominating persons for this position. John Buttigieg explained that the regionally appointed would be in direct contact with the council members therefore they would be able to help the councillors with their work. Mario Sammut asked a question to the Hon. Minister regarding a sentence with the Minister’s letter to the Council that emphasized that the Council should be forward looking and that such a process could only happen if there is a soul-search into what makes a Maltese in today’s world (see Attachment 3). Mr. Sammut asked the Hon. Minister about the possibilities what such a reply would entail. The Chairman replied that such a search for what makes us Maltese has to come from within and then shared with both the council itself and the rest of the diaspora.