Joseph Borg (born 19 March 1952) is a Maltese politician and diplomat. Prior to taking up the post of Commissioner for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, he was Minister of Foreign Affairs and led Malta's EU-accession negotiations.

Career

He graduated Doctor of Laws in Malta in 1975 and Master of Laws in Wales in 1988.

Fisheries Commissioner

As European Commissioner, he has been responsible for spearheading the EU's Integrated Maritime Policy and for innovative measures in fisheries, particularly through the involvement of stakeholders and the fight against illegal fishing activities, aimed at achieving sustainability in the sector. However, European fisheries policy has been unsuccessful so far in achieving sustainability, with 91% of fisheries on course to be classified as "overfished" by 2015, by which time the EU has committed to international targets for achieving sustainability. His head of cabinet was the German Michael Koehler.

Borg courted controversy among environmental groups by fiercely opposing the ban on the sale of Bluefin tuna, an increasingly rare fish which sells for thousands of pounds in Japan. His position on Bluefin tuna has been linked to the fact that the industry earns €100 million annually for Malta. Borg commented to the Times of Malta that "it is thanks to a lot of hard work at my level and at my staff's level that many of the proposals that are agreed by the commission took into account Maltese sensitivities".

Soon after the end of his term as Fisheries Commissioner in 2010, he was appointed chairman of the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies and resumed lecturing at the University of Malta.

Publications

1995: author of the Malta Companies Act

References

  • Borg's official website
  • Photos

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