Citizenship programme could have been handled better - Muscat

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat this morning admitted that the government could have handled the citizenship programme better but insisted that the scheme, which the government believed in, would attract major talent to Malta. Speaking during an interview on One Radio this morning, Dr Muscat said that although Parliament had approved the changes to the Citizenship Act for the programme to be introduced, the government still went into discussions with the Opposition because it was not arrogant and was willing to listen. Dr Muscat said that he believed that an agreement between the two sides could be reached if good will was shown by all and both parties shouldered their responsibilities. He said it was not acceptable to him, however, for politicians to taint Malta’s image in the foreign media. Dr Muscat also spoke on irregular migration and insisted that although everything was still on paper, the strategy used by his government in October was bearing fruit and the EU had finally committed itself to a concrete plan of action which included the involvement of Libya. On the electricity bills, he said that 90 per cent of Maltese families would be benefitting from a reduction of 30,...