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Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...
island country
An island country, island state or an island nation is a country whose primary territory consists of one or more islands or parts of islands. Approximately 25% of all independent countries are island countries. Island countries are historically ...
of Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
was the third Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
an member state of the Non-Aligned Movement
The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 120 countries that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. After the United Nations, it is the largest grouping of states worldwide.
The movement originated in the aftermath o ...
(after charter members of Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...
and SFR Yugoslavia) joining it in 1973. The country remained a part of the movement until 2004 when one of the requirements of the 2004 enlargement of the European Union
The largest expansion of the European Union (EU), in terms of territory, number of states, and population took place on 1 May 2004.
The simultaneous accessions concerned the following countries (sometimes referred to as the "A10" countries): ...
was for Malta to leave the Non-Aligned Movement. European integration process therefore affected and limited further Maltese integration and engagement with its Non-Aligned neighbouring states.
Maltese participation in the movement was motivated by advocacy of peace and development in the Mediterranean and was intensified in the aftermath of the departure of the remaining British troops from the island in 1979. Maltese association with the Non-Aligned countries during the Cold War was promoted by South European (Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
, Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
and Maltese) left wing parties closer association with the ideas of the NAM group than with the ideas of the Western European
Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context.
The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...
social democracy
Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote s ...
. In 1984 the country hosted the first in a series of the Mediterranean Non-Aligned Countries Ministerial Meetings.
Principles of neutrality and non-alignment were included into the Constitution of Malta in 1986 as a part of a compromise deal between the ruling Malta Labour Party
The Labour Party ( mt, Partit Laburista, PL), formerly known as the Malta Labour Party ( mt, Partit tal-Ħaddiema, MLP), is one of the two major political parties in Malta, along with the Nationalist Party. It sits on the centre-left of the p ...
the major oppositional Nationalist Party.
See also
*Foreign relations of Malta
After independence in 1964, Malta followed a policy of close co-operation with NATO countries. Since 1971, the country sought relations with the rest of the world, including communist countries in Eastern Europe and the non-aligned countries.
...
* EU Med Group
EU Med or EuroMed 9 or MED9 (formerly MED7; from EUrope Mediterranean) which is also referred to as "Club Med" and "Med Group", is an alliance of nine Mediterranean and Southern European Union member states: Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Ita ...
* Cyprus–Malta relations
Cypriot–Maltese relations are foreign relations between Cyprus and Malta. The two countries share membership of the European Union, Commonwealth of Nations and historically, the Non-Aligned Movement. Cyprus is represented to Malta through its a ...
* Malta–Yugoslavia relations
Malta–Yugoslavia relations were historical foreign relations between Malta and now split-up Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Together with Cyprus, both countries belonged to the small group of European and Mediterranean member states ...
* Libya–Malta relations
Libyan-Maltese relations are foreign relations between Libya and Malta. Both countries established diplomatic relations soon after Malta's independence. Both countries had very close ties and cooperation during Dom Mintoff's governments. Libya ha ...
References
{{Foreign relations of Malta Foreign relations of Malta History of Malta Euromediterranean Partnership