VALLETTA Maltese Prime Minister Alfred Sant said Saturday that rather than join the European Union, Malta should enter into a flexible free-trade accord with the EU. At the end of a general congress of the ruling Labor Party, Sant said a free-trade agreement with Brussels was the best solution for Malta at the present stage of its development. The nationalist opposition is keen for Malta to join the EU. Sant said Malta would dismantle the measures which protect its industries in the next five to seven years.

At that time, the people will be asked to discuss other possible options with regard to Europe, he said. Sant also said the government would continue with privatization in order to reduce the budget deficit and give industries a taste of competition. He said 20 percent of revenue generated by privatizations would go into social projects. The Labor Congress endorsed Sant's election manifesto ahead of early general elections on September 5.

For the first time in 50 years, Dom Mintoff who led the Labor party for 34 years, did not attend the party congress. Mintoff, 82, who has accused the party of abandoning its social conscience, has voted on three occasions against the government which has a majority of only one seat in parliament. Elections had not been due until 2001. (AFP)