Melvyn Mangion on bilateral relations between Malta and Germany

Notes by Melvyn Mangion

General

Malta enjoys excellent relations with Germany. Diplomatic Relations between the two countries were established on 4th December 1964 and the first Ambassador was appointed in November 1967. Malta’s Embassy in Bonn was opened in April 1977. The Embassy transferred its seat from Bonn to Berlin on the 25th April 2000.

Malta and Germany have concluded a number of bilateral agreements. These include a Double Taxation Agreement, an Investments Protection Agreement, an Air Service Agreement and an Extradition Agreement. There are no bilateral pending issues between Malta and Germany and that relations between both our countries are doing very well.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, exchanges have taken place at Presidential, Ministerial, Parliamentary and senior officials’ levels. These exchanges further enhance dialogue and co-operation between our two countries in the framework of the European Union, as well as within the regional and multilateral context. Such exchanges continue to be held on a regular basis to the mutual interest of both countries. The opening of the German Department of the University of Malta last year is an important step to enrich further the existing academic ties between both countries.

Germany has also been a country from which substantial investment has flown into Malta over the past decades. The introduction of low-cost airlines to and from Malta, Maltese and German tourists will certainly have more opportunities to travel between both countries.

The German Members of the Malta-Parliamentary Friendship Group will be visiting Malta in 2009 and we look forward to further co-operation within this Group. The Speaker of the House of Representatives the Hon. Dr. Louis Galea invited H.E. Professor Norbert Lammert, President of the German Bundestag to pay an official visit to Malta with the prime objective of setting in motion a constructive dialogue between the Maltese House of Representatives and the German Bundestag.

Economic, Trade, Investment and Tourism Relations

Tourism

One of the main economic links with Germany remains tourism. Germany has been the second largest market in Malta’s incoming tourism industry for a number of years — the tourist departure figures for the German market in 2007 were 129,732. The main attractions are clearly Malta’s mild climate, its beaches and its cultural and historical heritage. However, Malta has also become a key destination for English language studies.

German Investment in Malta

Germany is Malta’s foremost investment partner for Malta and this partnership will continue to strengthen further. Germany is Malta’s second most important export partner within the EU after France. When it comes to imports, Germany ranks number four of all the EU countries after Italy, the UK and France respectively.

Today, there are around 47 German owned companies with production facilities operating in Malta (see Annex). Playmobil Malta, Lufthansa Technik, Metallform, Seifert MTM Systems and Dold feature amongst the most important.

The Malta Enterprise approved more than 20 projects from Germany (new and expansions), mainly in IT, electronics, precision engineering and pharmaceuticals and the recent years resulted in the attraction of high value adding manufacturing companies such as the Bavarian Technology Systems, Cheops Electronics, MSC Malta Ltd., Adpro Instruments Ltd., Infratec Plus Ltd. and Hotset Malta Ltd. which manufacture and design electronic components. Playmobil, a world leader in the toy market, established its Malta manufacturing site in the early 70’s and today employs around 750 employees. This was possible after Playmobil invested heavily in its manufacturing site in Hal Far which is built over a footprint of 38,000 m2.

Possibly one of the most notable investment partners is Lufthansa Technik, which employs 450 full time employees and invested in 2007 €60 million in Malta on new maintenance facilities to handle large Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft. The Company built a 27,000m sq. hanger to perform regular C-checks on A330 and A340 long-haul aircraft as well as overhauls, known as D-checks. Essential for the company’s success are its links with the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST), where training courses are held for aviation maintenance technicians. Lufthansa Technik Malta sponsors apprentices undergoing training at MCAST.

Malta has also attracted German financial companies such as the BMW Group Malta Ltd. and the Robert Bosch Finance Malta Ltd. These are back end companies that support the financial issues of their respective parent corporate companies.

The German Market is considered to be one of its top priority markets. This is due to the strong presence of German companies in Malta and also due to the inherent potential that the German market offers vis-à-vis investment opportunities in Malta and Malta Enterprise supports German investments in Malta through routine company visits by its relationship managers to ensure that any potential issues would be sorted out. These visits also ensure that the management of these companies would be informed about new incentives and support programs introduced by Malta Enterprise.

One has to mention also the important co-ordination and collaboration that exists between Malta Enterprise and with the German Embassy in Malta in the organization of a ‘Stammtisch’ meeting on a quarterly basis for all German entrepreneurs who have interests in Malta. These meetings are organized at the German Circle premises in Valetta and normally a German company delivers a presentation to the audience, which is then followed by a reception. These meetings serve as a networking event for the German Business community in Malta.

An important aspect of Malta Enterprise’s efforts vis-à-vis the German market is the attraction of new FDI projects to Malta. So as to achieve this aim, Malta Enterprise holds an office in Munich that is staffed by a German National.

Malta Enterprise’s efforts to attract new FDI projects is achieved through a balance between Multiplier Contracts, Honorary Consul Contacts, Workshops organized in key locations in Germany and personal company visits by Malta Enterprise personnel.

The last workshop was held at the Munich Chamber of Commerce during the last week of October 2008 and was attended by some 40 participants from the Bavarian region.

Along with the maritime sector and financial services, information technology and telecommunications is another important sector of the Maltese economy which is experiencing an increase in investment by IT foreign companies. In this regard, the Smart City development, which is the largest foreign direct investment project Malta has ever experienced and is likely to intensify IT investment further. Maltese IT graduates and IT companies in Malta have been very successful and the future of this sector looks good. In this regard, German companies are fully encouraged to take this opportunity to invest in Malta. Most of the growth in the ICT industry in Malta is through foreign owned companies.

Chronology of Bilateral Relations

Diplomatic Relations between the two countries were established on 4th December 1964 and the first Ambassador was appointed in November 1967. Malta’s Embassy in Bonn was opened in April 1977. The Embassy transferred its seat from Bonn to Berlin on the 25th April 2000. On the 31st October 2005, H.E. Dr. John Paul Grech presented his credentials to the Federal President of Germany, H.E. Prof. Horst Kohler. H.E. Karl Andreas Freiherr von Stenglin, Germany’s Ambassador to Malta, presented his credentials to the President of Malta on the 20th July 2006.

In March 2000 the Minister for Tourism, Dr Michael Refalo, led a delegation on a visit to Berlin. The delegation, which included Minister for Gozo, Giovanna Debono, visited an ITB fair in which the Malta Tourism Authority participated.

Between the 14 and 15 December 2000, Dr. Christoph Zöpel, Minister of State of the Federal Republic of Germany, who is responsible for EU enlargement at the German Foreign Ministry, visited Malta for political talks. He had separate meetings with the Prime Minister, the Hon. Dr. Edward Fenech Adami, the Hon. Dr. Joe Borg, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and H.E. Prof. Guido de Marco, President of Malta. Relations with Germany and EU matters in particular were discussed.

Between 22 and 24 January 2001, Foreign Minister Dr. Joe Borg was in Germany for talks with his counterpart Joschka Fischer. Dr. Borg also met Dr. Klose, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, and Dr. Pleugel, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Talks centred on Malta’s EU bid, the negotiation process and bilateral relations.

Between 6 and 8 March 2001, Prime Minister Dr Fenech Adami was in Germany for talks with his counterpart Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. He was accompanied by Foreign Minister Dr. Joe Borg and by the Head of Malta’s EU Negotiating Team, Mr. Richard Cachia Caruana. The Prime Minister also had talks with Dr. Hans Ulrich Klose, Chairman of the Bundestag Committee of Foreign Affairs, and Dr. Christoph Zoepel, Federal Minister of State. During the visit an updated Double Taxation Agreement was signed and Malta’s new Embassy in Berlin was officially inaugurated.

Between April and May 2001 Dr. Reinhard Schweppe, Head of the EU Directorate at the Federal Foreign Office, was in Malta on vacation. During this period he had two working days of meetings, 2–3 May, when he met the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Head of the Malta-EU Information Centre, the Head of the EU Directorate, and the Chairman of the Core Negotiating Group.

Between 12–14 June 2001 a delegation from the European Affairs Committee at the German Bundestag, led by Dr. Friedbert Pflueger, visited Malta for talks on European Affairs. The delegation had meetings with the Prime Minister, the Speaker Hon Anton Tabone, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Social Policy Hon Lawrence Gonzi, Finance Minister Dalli, the Foreign Affairs Committee, Foreign Affairs Minster Borg and the President. Talks centred on Malta’s EU process and Germany’s presence on the EU stage.

A visit to Malta was made by Dr. Hans Ulrich Klose, chairman of the Germany Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee, between 22 and 24 June 2001. Dr. Klose had separate meetings with the Prime Minister, the Hon. Dr. Edward Fenech Adami, the Hon. Dr. Joe Borg, Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Prof. Guido de Marco, President of Malta, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives the Hon. Anton Tabone.

Dr. Thomas Kossenday, representative of the German Parliament and CDU Parliamentarian, was in Malta in October/November 2001.

President de Marco paid a State Visit to Germany on 5–9 November 2001. He was accompanied by Foreign Minister Dr. Joe Borg and a delegation representing the MDC, METCO, the Chamber of Commerce, the Federation of Industries, the Malta Tourism Authority, Air Malta and the University of Malta. During his visit, Prof. De Marco met with Federal President Johannes Rau, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and the Prime Minister of Baden-Wurttemberg Erwin Teufel, besides Angela Merkel, Edmund Stoiber, Christoph Zoepel and other important political personalities and leaders of industry.

On 10–13 February 2002, a delegation from the Finance Committee of the German Bundestag visited Malta and held meetings with the President, the Prime Minister and the Deputy Leader of the Malta Labour Party. Matters relating to Malta’s accession to the European Union were discussed.

A delegation from the Foreign Affairs Committee of the German Parliament visited Malta in April 2002 and met with their Maltese counterparts in addition to paying courtesy calls on the highest authorities. A delegation of Maltese parliamentarians belonging to the German-Maltese Parliamentary Friendship Group visited Germany on 14–19 April 2002 and met with officials in the political and commercial fields.

Malta’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Joe Borg visited Hamburg on 3–4 April 2002 and held various meetings with the city’s highest authorities and gave two speeches at the Anglo-German Club and at the Intercontinental Hotel.

Dr. Rudolf Seiters, Deputy Chairman of the German Parliament visited Malta on 4–8 May 2002, holding several meetings with important personalities.

On 8 October 2002, Minister for Economic Services Josef Bonnici stated that Lufthansa Technik Malta, the Malta-based company set up by Lufthansa and Air Malta to carry out maintenance checks on aircraft, already had 60 job orders and is set to employ 32 technicians. Twenty of these technicians would be sent for training in Germany while another 20 would be recruited later. Forty-two Air Malta employees voluntarily agreed to leave the company to join the new venture. The company started operating on January 2, 2003.

In November 2002 a Protocol to the Air Services Agreement was signed between the respective civil aviation authorities of Malta and Germany in Bonn. The arrangement allows for more points, more flights and more flexibility for the national air carrier.

Mr. Dieter Grasedieck, SPD Member of Parliament and Chairman of the Maltese-German Parliamentary Association visited Malta between 12th and 26th April, 2003. Mr. Grasedieck had discussions with the Education Department on possible school exchanges and also with the Head of the Mechanical Engineering Faculty at MCAST.

The Hon. Erwin Teufel, Prime Minister of the Baden-Württemberg region visited Malta between 30th April and 2nd May 2003 as guest of the President. During his stay he also paid a courtesy call on the Prime Minister of Malta.

A group of 18 Members of Parliament from the region of Lower Saxony (Hanover) led by Mr. Thomas Spieker and Dr. Friedbert Pflüger visited Malta from 30th April to 4th May 2003. The group called on the President and the Prime Minister.

Between the 29th and 30th July 2003, Minister of Finance Hans Eichel paid a visit to Malta for talks with the Hon. John Dalli, Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs. During the visit, Minister Eichel paid a courtesy call on the President and on the Deputy Prime Minister.

In 2003, President Prof. Guido de Marco visited Bonn, through the co-operation of ZEI (Centre for European Integration Studies), where he delivered a speech at Bonn University. The President also paid a courtesy call to the Lord Mayoress of the city and held discussions with the Executive Directors of the three UN Divisions in Bonn — Climate Change, Migration and Desertification.

Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder travelled to Malta on a working visit on the 24 February, 2004. It was the first visit to Malta by a German Chancellor. In discussions with Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami, the enlargement of the EU, the draft Constitutional Treaty of the EU and accession of Turkey were discussed.

German Deputy Minister of Transport, Mr Ralf Nagel visited Malta on the 27–28 April, 2004. He had meetings with Minister Censu Galea and officials from the Malta Maritime Authority.

On the 30 June — 01 July 2004, the Hon. Censu Galea, Minister for Competitiveness and Communications, led a delegation on an official two-day visit to Berlin where he held meetings with German Minister for Transport, Dr. Manfred Stolpe, and with State Secretary Mr. Ralf Nagel. The talks focused on maritime affairs.

On 25–29 May 2005, a German Parliamentary delegation, led by Mr. Dieter Grasedieck, paid a visit to Malta. Meetings were held with the President of Malta, Dr. Edward Fenech Adami, the Prime Minister, the Hon. Dr. Lawrence Gonzi, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Hon. Dr. Michael Frendo, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Anton Tabone.

On 31 October 2005, H.E. Dr. John Paul Grech presented his credentials to the Federal President of Germany, H.E. Prof. Horst Kohler. Amongst the topics discussed, there was the mention of a possible State Visit to Malta by the German Head of State.

On 2 February 2006, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Hon. Dr. Michael Frendo, held discussions in Berlin with his German counterpart, Frank Walter-Steinmeier. Discussions revolved around the problem of illegal immigration, financial perspectives and the future of Europe. Dr. Frendo also met the Director for European Affairs of the Federation of German Industries and the Secretary General of the Federal Association of the German Industry.

On 29 May 2006 Ambassador John Paul Grech met with Dr. Christoph Heusgen, Director-General, Foreign Policy and Security Advisor of the Federal Chancellor. The meeting focused on the situation with regard to illegal immigration and the possibility of having German sponsorship for a Chair in Diplomatic History at MEDAC.

The Hon. Michael Frendo met the Ambassador Designate of Germany, Mr. Karl Baron Von Stenglin on 19 July 2006. The new German Ambassador presented his credentials to President Fenech Adami on 20 July 2006.

The German Federal Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier was in Gozo for a private visit between 22 July and 2 August 2006. During his stay Foreign Minister Steinmeier had the opportunity to meet with Foreign Minister Frendo.

On 3 August 2006 Ambassador Karl Baron Von Stenglin paid a courtesy call on the Prime Minister, at the Auberge de Castille. Among other things, the meeting touched upon the state of the Maltese economy, illegal immigration and the German Presidency of the EU in the first half of 2007.

On 15 December 2006 the Prime Minister of Malta the Hon. Dr. Lawrence Gonzi had a meeting with the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany Ms Angela Merkel. The meeting was held in Brussels. Matters discussed included, EU affairs, the introduction of the EURO in Malta and Illegal Immigration.

On the 13–15 April 2007, the Federal Minister for the Environment Sigmar Gabriel paid a visit to Malta, during which the German delegation was briefed on the Dwejra Life Project and toured several sites in Gozo. A twinning agreement with the German government on producer responsibility was also concluded. Besides meeting with the Hon. Minister George Pullicino, Minister Gabriel met with MEPA, Waste Serv and FOI Officials.

A delegation from the House of Representatives, led by Dr. Michael Asciak and including MPs Clyde Puli, Carmelo Abela and Joseph Cuschieri visited Berlin on the 9–14 September 2007 at the invitation of the Chairman of the German-Maltese Parliamentary Friendship Group, Ernst-Reinhard Beck. Besides holding talks with the German members of the German-Maltese Parliamentary Friendship Group, the delegation held meetings with the Chairman of the Committee for Education, Research and Technology Assessment, the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, the Chairman of the EU Affairs Committee and the Chairman of the Committee of Home Affairs within the Federal House of Representatives. The delegation also met the chairman and members of the Committee for Tourism and with members of the committee for Transport, Building Construction and Urban Development. The delegation also met the CEO of the Frauenhofer Group for Information and Communication Technology to discuss the Euromed IT-I Initiative.

On the 16–17 November 2008 the Federal President of the Republic of Germany, Dr. Horst Köhler, made a State Visit in Malta during which he held meetings with the country’s highest representatives. During the visit, the Federal President also visited a number of projects currently underway, including the site of Smart City and VISET. This visit was the second by a German Federal President, with the first one having been made in October 1990 by H.E. Richard von Weizsäcker.

On the 1st — 4th May 2008, on the invitation of the Director of the International Maritime Law Institute (IMLI), the President of the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea — based in Hamburg — Judge Professor Rudiger Wolfrum paid a visit to Malta. During the visit, Professor Wolfrum received the Award for Meritorious Contribution towards the Development, Interpretation and Implementation of International Maritime Law on behalf of the Tribunal. During the visit Professor Wolfrum also paid a courtesy call on the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Hon. Tonio Borg.

On the 29–30 September 2008 the Minister of State for Europe of the Federal Republic of Germany, H.E. Mr. Gunter Gloser, made an Official Visit in Malta during which he held meetings with Malta high representatives. During the visit H.E. Mr. Gloser visited, among other, the University of Malta and inaugurated the German Department.