DIARY OF EVENTS 2004 JANUARY - doi photography competition

Lm100.9 million, while total expenditure went down by 6.1 per cent to Lm132 million. This means that
the shortfall was Lm31.2 million, compared with Lm40.8 million in February last year.
• 27 March 2004 Minister for Rural Affairs and the Environment, George Pullicino, announced his
intention to have an officer to co-ordinate the Government corporate environmental responsibilities. He
said that the first task would be the co-ordination of a focal person on environmental matters from all
Ministries. Mr Pullicino was addressing a seminar themed ‘European Union and Corporate
Environmental Responsibility’.
• 27 March 2004 Malta and Cyprus have been exempted from a £50 fee being levied by the UK on Eastern
Europeans who go to the UK to work. The regulations will apply to workers from Poland, Latvia,
Lithuania, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary and Estonia, and will be in place for at least five
years.
• 27 March 2004 A spokesman for the Ministry of IT and Investment told The Times newspaper that Air
Malta is to cut allowances for staff travelling on business abroad by up to Lm70 per day as part of its drive
to cut costs. The allowances for travel abroad, excluding hotel accommodation, would now be set at Lm30
for every member of staff. Around Lm347,000 was spent on these allowances last year.
• 29 March 2004 Mario Andrea Guaiana, Director General of the Italian Customs, said that Malta would
form part of the southernmost frontier of the European Union: "Italy used to be the southernmost border of
the EU, but now it is Malta. That is why Maltese Customs have such an important role." Mr Guaiana was
speaking at Customs in Valletta in the presence of Customs Director John Mifsud.
• 29 March 2004 Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi praised his predecessor and justified the Cabinet's
decision to appoint Dr Edward Fenech-Adami as the next President. He said that, if we ask who we want
to represent us, and what we wish to see in the person, the answer would be ‘someone who lived, and did
not just speak about, principles’. Dr Gonzi was speaking at San Gwann.
• 29 March 2004 Education Minister Louis Galea said that educationally, economically, socially, politically
and intellectually, it makes sense to offer students the best possible English language teaching. “On the
eve of EU accession, we are aware of the great assets we can offer as a nation to the European Union and
one of these assets has to be the bilingual situation that exists locally,” he added.
• 30 March 2004 The House of Representatives unanimously approved a motion of thanks to President
Guido de Marco at the end of his term. The Opposition did not speak during the debate, but the motion
was approved nem com, that is, without opposition. Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, who was the only
speaker, said that the motion was not a formality but an expression of sincere appreciation by both sides of
the House.
• 30 March 2004 The House of Representatives elected Dr Edward Fenech-Adami as President to succeed
Prof. Guido de Marco. The Prime Minister underlined Dr Fenech-Adami’s qualities and said that his
choice to serve as President was inevitable as Malta joined the EU. Dr Sant countered that Dr Fenech-
Adami, as former Prime Minister and Party Leader, was a divisive element. The motion was approved
after a division, with 33 government votes in favour and 29 opposition votes against.
• 30 March 2004 IT and Investment Minister Austin Gatt launched an electronic service for the Malta
Council for Arts, Science and Technology. Thanks to the new service, individuals may register for parttime
courses at MCAST, the third e-government service linked to education. The other services are e-
exams, where students may apply and register on line for their exams, and e-libraries, which is an
electronic public library catalogue.
• 30 March 2004 Bank of Valletta and Heritage Malta signed an agreement whereby BoV committed just
under Lm200,000 for the conservation and presentation of the Tarxien temples over the next eight years. A
project team consisting of representatives from the Bank and the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage has
prepared a draft preservation proposal and improved access for Tarxien temples.
• 30 March 2004 After months of preparations, Air Malta’s first Fare 4U low-cost, no frills flight to
London Stansted took off with 134 seats sold out of the 144 available. Air Malta’s chief operating officer,
Joe Cappello, said recently that three quarters of the Fare 4U flights are already sold for the next three
months and a number of peak flights for July and August are full.