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This letter appears in today’s edition of The Times (UK) under the heading “Britain must do its bit to sort out the Calais Jungle Problem”:

Sir, Recent media coverage of the situation in Calais (“Dawn raid on the Jungle to end migrants’ stay in Calais shantytown”, report, Sept 23) does not reflect the fact that some states, mainly on the EU’s southern and eastern flanks, such as Greece and Malta, are receiving disproportionate numbers of asylum claimants.

Regretably, reception conditions for asylum seekers and chances for refugees to find protection differ among EU countries. As a consequence, asylum seekers will move to France or even onwards unless better standards are implemented across the EU. The European Commission is looking at voluntary initiatives, such as responsibility-sharing among EU member states, to help to share out some arrivals rather than leaving frontline states bearing inordinate responsibility.

Considering the long tradition of refugee protection in the UK, as well as the competence of its institutions, the country is well placed to encourage better practice and to share its expertise. Of the 42 million uprooted people in the world last year, only some 0.7 per cent entered Europe and 0.074 per cent reached the UK. The UK is not in danger of being “swamped” by asylum claimants, as some commentators suggest, but is certainly in the position to extend its support to states elsewhere in Europe and in other parts of the world which, due to their geographical location, indeed bear a disproportionate refugee burden.

Roland Schilling

UNHCR Representative to the UK

Speaking to Brasilian bishops, Pope Benedict the sixteenth was unequivocal about his opinion on the effect of divorce:

«La Chiesa non può restare indifferente davanti alla separazione dei coniugi e ai divorzi – ha detto papa Ratzinger rivolgendosi ai vescovi brasiliani – davanti alla rovina delle famiglie, e dalle conseguenze create nei figli dal divorzio. Questi, per essere istruiti ed educati, hanno bisogno di riferimenti estremamente precisi e concreti, di genitori determinati e certi che in modo diverso concorrano alla loro educazione. Ora – ha aggiunto – è proprio questo principio che la pratica del divorzio sta minando e compromettendo con la cosiddetta famiglia allargata e mobile, che moltiplica i “padri” e le “madri” e fanno in modo che la maggioranza di quelli che si sentono ’orfanì non siano i figli senza genitori, ma i figli che ne hanno troppi». (La Stampa)

Hold your breath and wait for the ripple effect on the Maltese “debate” on the introduction of divorce.

The UN Security Council has unanimously endorsed a resolution that commits member nations to work toward a world without nuclear weapons, and endorses a broad framework of actions to reduce global nuclear risks. (BBC)

In the UK the reduction of spending on nuclear armaments has become an integral part of the political debate.

At approximately 2345 hrs last night, in Hal-Ghaxaq, Malta the Ghaxaq Saint Joseph Fireworks factory suffered a serious of explosions. “Officers from the AFM’s explosive ordnance disposal unit, the Civil Protection Department and the police were on site to make the area safe. A large number of people watched proceedings.” (TOM, 25.09.09).

I know that most readers will find this hard to believe but here at J’accuse we don’t really relish having to deal with these cases of plagiarism or lazy article writing. We feel obliged however to report that only two days after David “Scissorhands” Casa’s ‘article’ appeared in the Indy, another work of snippety art has appeared this time in the Old Faithful itself.

Casa, or whoever it is that scribbles the notes that give signs of activity in Brussels by the erstwhile repeat offender for the Nationalist Party and EPP, seems to have less faith in getting away with publishing murder with the censors at Strickland House. The reason for this added caution is not all too unjustified given the penchant of some editors over in St Paul’s Street to interfere with content. What we therefore get in this week’s mastery entitled “Less red tape, more productivity” is a mixture of paraphrasing from two Commission documents (Commission Proposal for Council Directive (…) COM 2009(21) and Communication from Commission to Council COM 2009(20)).

For one nationalist MEP busy plagiarising journalists and EU Commission pages there’s another who is busy asking relevant questions of our representatives in the national parliament. Writing in today’s Times EPP MEP Simon Busuttil asks why Malta’s parliamentarians do not submit reactions to the proposals generated by the European Commission. Simon describes the situation as disconcerting and he is right.

The laws that will eventually get through in Bruxelles after scrutiny by the EP are more often that not rules that require implementation in Malta and once they become EU legislation there is not much national parliamentarians can do except have a righteous whinge about it all. We all know that the Maltese MP’s are very good at the charade of  “My hands are tied by the EU laws and there is nothing I can do about it”. What we are also learning is that they are doing F-all about new proposed legislation. You see, it’s not just the Six Magnificent Men who represent us in the EP that do the job of scrutinising the proposed legislation (when they are not busy cutting and pasting). It’s also national parliaments that are involved in the legislative process.

It’s all well and good to criticise the detachedness one feels from the “eurocrat” stereotype that is all too often trumpeted in the media. Thanks to Simon’s whistleblowing of sorts we now know that our MP’s on both sides of the divide are not doing much to bridge that gap.

As a footnote it is important to notice that this kind of preparation applies for all institutions of government and state. Just as the Maltese parliament would need a liaison office in Brussels to monitor legislation, thus also the Courts would need a proper unit within the courts to assist judges when making preliminary references to the ECJ. Joining Europe was an (inevitable) dream. Keeping up the pace with our 26 peers is an altogether different game.

Even Simon Says So!

The battle for the seats in Brussels and Strasbourg is over and the Maltese people have spoken. J’accuse’s mission as scourge of the candidates engaged in taking us all for a ride continues. During the election MEP re-candidate for the Nationalist Pick’N’Mix party David Casa was exposed by J’accuse for having cut and pasted his way into the columns of our dailies – in the hope of showing the electors that his was the business of the EU (PNN/EPP – The Cut and Paste Way).

Casa is back – as an MEP – but old habits die hard. His report on the re-election of EPP favourite Barroso to a second term as Commission President is once again rife with cut and paste activity that does not leave much space for original thought or even original reporting. You’d have thought that with a place in the parliament Casa could have strung a few words of his own together in order to report the election. Fat chance – it is easier to rush to the Guardian Online paper and “borrow” most of the text from an article.

Here is Casa’s Indy contribution today: “Barroso’s Second Term“.

And here is Ian Traynor’s report from Strasbourg for the Guardian (Jose Manuel Barroso wins second term as president of European commission). Ian Traynor is not an MEP representing his country but a journalist paid to report the news from the EPP (the Guardian European Editor).

For the last few paragraphs of his article, editor Casa returns to the faithful source of the commission pages: Barroso’s very own summary of his achievements way back in May 2009.

The absolute earth-shattering irony of the last paragraph of Casa’s article is being reproduced here in all it’s ironic glory (my highlight):

And I felt I must conclude this article with Barroso’s own words of unifying wisdom: “As president of the commission, my party is going to be Europe. Anyone who wants can come on board on this exciting journey that is the integration of Europe.”

Un-flipping-believable… the bloody cheek!

Casa’s articles are like modified genius: 99% inspiration 1 % perspiration…. and that’s really stretching the concept of inspiration to the limits!