Abortion will remain a national competence despite efforts from Malta’s Labour MEPs

Robert Abela should come clean on abortion

A resolution that called for abortion to be included in the Charter of Fundamental Rights was voted on today during the European Parliament’s plenary part-session in Brussels. The resolution was co-signed by Partit Laburista MEP Cyrus Engerer. In comments following the vote the PN Head of the Delegation in the European Parliament David Casa stated:

“Constant efforts to impinge on national competences when it comes to the abortion laws are destined to fail. These proposals are in conflict with the Treaties that can only be amended by unanimity. No resolution will change that. But it is condemnable that the Labour Party’s own MEPs are leading the charge to call for abortion being imposed on the people of Malta & Gozo”.

In the run-up to Malta’s accession to the European Union, the government at the time had negotiated robust safeguards to ensure that such matters would not be forced on the Maltese people against their will, in particular through Protocol 7 to the Accession Treaty. 

“The PL’s position on abortion is already questionable following the covert attempts to introduce it last year when changes were proposed to the criminal code which were subsequently pulled back as a result of public outrage. Robert Abela should come clean and clearly state whether he supports the actions of his MEPs in the European Parliament when one of them co-signed the Resolution and out of a delegation of 4 MEPs only half of them voted against it.”