Parliament to open on 20 June, new Commission for Civil and Human Rights tops the agenda – PM

Prime Minister Robert Abela said on Sunday that Parliament for the new legislature will open on 20 June, and that a law to create a new Commission for Civil and Fundamental Human Rights will be right at the top of the agenda.

Parliament will open just 21 days after the general election took place on 31 May, which Abela said is the shortest time possible.  The Prime Minister said this sends a clear message: that despite the approaching summer months, the new government is ready to hit the ground running to implement new laws.

Abela was speaking in his first interview on party media since being re-elected to power in the general election on 30 May, where he thanked the electorate for its faith in him and for giving him a very strong team of MPs to work with.

One of the first laws that the government will table in Parliament will be one which regulates Voluntary Organisations (VOs) and which will simplify their reporting obligations while also maintaining the principles of good governance.

The law, he said, will reduce bureaucracy for VOs and will also seek to differentiate between them based on their size.

Another immediate priority, Abela said, is the creation of a new Commission for the Protection of Civil and Fundamental Human Rights. “It is the first time that we will have such a Commission,” Abela said.

He said that it is important for civil rights not to be taken for granted, and added that he was “shocked” at remarks that he had seen passed in the last few days.

Abela did not specify what remarks these were, but he was ostensibly referring to comments made by new PN MP Conrad Borg Manche who said that he did not see why young children should be exposed to drag performances or pride marches and that LGBTIQ pride events did not advance equality but rather showed “how unequal” the community was.

The remarks attracted criticism from LGBTIQ community figures and government MPs and officials.

Abela described the narrative as “dangerous” and said that it shows that had the people elected the Nationalist Party to government, it would have seen a “total regression of what we achieved in the last 13 years.”

“Look at the regressions there have been in Europe: it all starts with this dangerous narrative, and if it is not addressed it can lead to the start of dangerous movements,” Abela said.

Abela said that this reform will send a clear message that this is an area that the government will keep strengthening, and that nothing will be taken for granted. “There are still small sectors in our society which do not have full equality,” he said.

Like in the last legislature, Abela also promised legal amendments to IVF laws.  Abela said that the promised changes would see PGTM genetic testing extended to cover another 16 rare and serious genetic health conditions, taking the total up to 25.

“This is a change that would never happen with people who bring about such dangerous narratives,” Abela said, adding that he assumes that there will be similar undercurrents of objections to this like there was in 2022.

He said that he had emphasised to his Cabinet and to the heads of government agencies that the coming months required total commitment so that the government can give results immediately.  He praised the “sense of enthusiasm” and the tenacity of his new team to deliver the PL’s electoral manifesto.

Abela spoke about the Cabinet’s first decision to remove a significant tract of agricultural land in Bulebel from the development zone, saying that the country’s economy permits the government to take decisions such as these.

He said that such a decision will give farmers, who were working the land without a title, peace of mind and he ran through the work in multiple environmental projects that the government has done or is planning to do.

Abela said that the electoral records did make him proud, but what he was most proud about is the way that Malta is leading Europe on the economy.  He said that the country is at the top of the charts in work generation and has managed to bring its debt-to-GDP ratio down to 49% – with targets to further reduce this to 40%.

“Look at other countries: there is no comparison.  The best record we have is that we are keeping Malta consistently at the top, which is not easy to do,” he said.

He said that in the coming week he will be in Brussels for the European Council to discuss the EU’s budget up until 2034. Malta’s economic success will factor into this: how the budget is distributed depends on a country’s gross national income and economic progress, Abela explained.

“These are factors where our success actually works against us,” he said, but added that he can negotiate with credibility because Malta has reached its fiscal targets early, has a strong economy, and it is his second EU budget negotiation.

Abela said that the coming legislature is one with challenges, but has even greater prospects than ever before.

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