Senior Maltese and EU diplomats present at last week’s emergency EU Summit in Brussels could not believe what Prime Minister Robert Abela said following the meeting with his 26 EU counterparts.

In comments given to the press after exiting the summit’s room last Thursday, Abela said that he was not in favour of the EU’s plan, dubbed ReArm Europe, intended to allow member states to increase their spending on their defence so that they could better counter for threats without the need of NATO or the US.

Abela also gave the impression that he did not favour more EU spending to help Ukraine in its war against Russia, particularly given the evolving unprecedented situation where the US administration is taking a step back.

“Increasing defence spending will only serve to disrupt achieving peace,” Abela told journalists outside the summit room as he promised to oppose increased military spending.

“I might be the only one who utters these words, but I will do it,” Abela told reporters.

Just a few hours later, as confirmed by the summit’s conclusions, Abela had no qualms about ReArming Europe and more weapons for Ukraine and was one of the 26 Heads of State to “firmly support” both initiatives.

EU sources told The Shift that Abela did not show any sign of opposition during the actual meeting, and his comments outside the room were opposed to Malta’s official stand.

The only EU leader who opposed the deal was Victor Orban of Hungary, with some reservations from Slovakia, which ultimately supported it.

“We are very shocked with what happened,” a senior Maltese diplomat told The Shift.

“Unfortunately, at the EU level, our prime minister is seen as untrustworthy as he changes his position from one day to the next,” the seasoned diplomat said.

“Abela had a clear brief that he followed during the meeting. He can’t leave the room and say he did the opposite. That is making us a laughingstock, and our EU colleagues are getting that,” another diplomat said.

Some of the headlines on Prime Minister Robert Abela’s mixed messages.

From more defence spending to no spending

Last week’s incident was not the first embarrassing U-turn by Abela on the international front.

On 4 February, at the end of another EU Council meeting, Abela ruffled the feathers of the Labour Party’s old guard when he said that Malta needed to reconsider its neutrality and step up its defence spending.

“In our defence, we are not equipped for what may happen and need to invest more in the army,” Abela boldly said.

He also insisted that the neutrality clause in Malta’s Constitution, put in place by Labour on the eve of the 1987 elections, needed some re-thinking to “meet today’s realities”.

However, just a few days later, Abela also reversed his statements.

Feeling the heat from Labour’s old guard, who defend the neutrality clause, Abela declared that he had no intention of changing the Constitution.

At the same time, he also backed down from his declaration to increase Malta’s defence budget and spend more on the army.

Malta spends some €90 million annually on its army, primarily on salaries. The island is not capable of defending its territory, so in case of aggression, it will have to depend on other states.