Voters in the tiny Mediterranean archipelago of Malta go to the polls on Saturday in a referendum on joining an enlarged European Union.
Pro-Europe Prime Minister Eddie Fenech-Adami told at least 15,000 supporters waving a sea of blue European flags at a rally today that the referendum was a "defining moment" which would shape the country's future.
"We will be joining a union of countries who work for peace and economic progress, and Malta has the opportunity to be on the same level as these countries," said Mr Fenech-Adami, leader of the ruling Nationalist Party.
He accused the anti-EU main opposition Labour Party, which has warned that Malta's identity would be overrun by EU giants like France and Germany, of basing their campaign "on fear of the unknown" in a bitterly divisive campaign.
A few kilometres away in the Floriana quarter of the capital, an ebullient Labour Party leader Mr Alfred Sant told a noisily defiant rally the government was misleading voters.
He said the Maltese should "keep our destiny in our own hands" through partnership with the EU in a series of cooperation protocols, not membership. Brussels' "one-size-fits-all" policies do not suit Malta, he added.
"With our destiny in our hands we could pursue projects without taking on obligations which do not suit us, with the US, North Africa and Russia."
Opinion polls show the pro-EU camp comfortably ahead with 52 per cent support, compared to 19 per cent against, but the percentage of undecided voters - 26.4 per cent - is being watched closely by Brussels for signs of euroscepticism.
Some EU officials and analysts fear a No vote could potentially set off a chain reaction in the other candidate countries which hold their referendums later this year.
Malta will set off a frenzied round of referendums involving an estimated 50 million voters over the next six months as 10 new candidates seek to ratify membership in an expanded 25-state EU by May 2004.
Slovenia will vote on March 23rd; Hungary's referendum will be held on April 12th; Lithuania and Slovakia go to the polls in May; Poland and the Czech Republic in June; and Estonia and Latvia in September. Cyprus is only one of 10 candidate countries not to plan a referendum.
AFP