Just a week prior to Malta’s General Elections and in the light of the EU Commission’s decision to take Malta to the European Court of Justice over the traditional socio-cultural Maltese passion of spring hunting, the Federation for Hunting & Conservation - Malta (FKNK) organised two public meetings (Gozo 1st March and Malta 2nd March) where the President, the Secretary and the PRO of the FKNK addressed the thousands of Maltese and Gozitan, also European citizens, hunters and trappers.

The speakers gave a clear picture of how relationships stand between the FKNK and the two main Political Parties, even reading out a position paper that had just been transmitted to the FKNK by the Malta Labour Party.

With regards to the action of the EU Commission, it was explained that the FKNK believes that:

“EU Common Positions were adopted by the then EU Member States signifying their agreement to seventy-seven special arrangements affecting various sectors of the Maltese Society. One of the special arrangements was about the traditional socio-cultural passion of spring hunting as practiced within the framework of EU Directive 79/409/EEC.

Today, the EU Commission wants to go back on this agreement and is taking Malta to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) over spring hunting with evidence that is based on gross misinterpretation of material facts.

This could see the eventual crumble of the other seventy-six special arrangements affecting the other sectors.

This would also send a clear message to the Maltese population that EU membership was based on a hoax.”

These statements also form part of a Petition (attached) that is being collected by the FKNK for eventual presentation to the concerned authorities, and because the FKNK also believes that this EU Commission’s action will eventually negatively reflect upon the whole Maltese Nation and not just the hunters and trappers, the FKNK will be present at the Valletta entrance this Wednesday 5th March during the day, where any so concerned Maltese citizen may sign the Petition.

The Petition may also be signed at the offices of the FKNK or at any other known FKNK outlets in the Maltese Islands.

The meetings also approved a Resolution that will be presented to his Excellency the President of Malta, Dr. Eddie Fenech Adami, with an appeal for the President’s personal intervention regarding the EU Commission’s action.

Dr. Fenech Adami had unequivocally guaranteed the spring hunting special arrangement with the EU prior to Malta’s EU Membership by means of two personal letters that he had signed and sent from his Office of Malta Prime Minister at the time, to each individual Maltese hunter and trapper, numbering over 17,000 licensed citizens.

Dr. Fenech Adami as Malta Prime Minister also signed Malta’s Treaty of Accession with the EU on 16th April 2003 and still as Malta Prime Minister saw Malta become an EU Member State on 1st May 2004.

FKNK Council