It is not always easy to stand up and be counted. However, young people now have the chance to do so. EU membership will certainly provide considerable opportunities for them to improve their position in life and carve out for themselves a satisfying and fruitful career.
Nowadays, students wanting to study abroad face several problems which relate to their equal treatment as citizens of that country and their right of residence. Perhaps an even more thorny obstacle is the actual cost involved. The expense of enrolling as a student from a non-EU member state does impose an additional financial problem which should be somewhat relieved once Malta becomes a member.
Should we join the EU, students would have the possibility of studying within the EU member countries as de facto EU citizens. They would, therefore, have the right to reside, without immigration restrictions, in another EU member state of their own choice in order to study.
What do we mean by equal treatment? The right to equal treatment means that students studying in another EU country may benefit from the same treatment as students who are actual nationals of that country. Basically, this would translate into the enjoyment, by the Maltese student, of the same rights and obligations as the students of that particular EU host country. In real terms, the Maltese student would be charged the standard tuition fees prevalent in that institution, avoiding the surcharge usually imposed on non-EU applicants.
Maltese students would also enjoy the normal citizen's rights of residence in the country in which they decide to study. This right applies so long as they are enrolled in a recognised educational establishment.
Another benefit would be that students studying in another member state are also entitled to basic healthcare, provided they fill in the necessary forms beforehand.
Free movement to study or to obtain training is a simple enough idea to appreciate. However, moving in order to find a job is a different matter altogether and entails more specific rights and obligations. From the very first day of membership, Maltese workers will have the unrestricted right to seek work in the EU. Current restrictions and work permits will no longer be necessary for any type of job.
On Malta becoming a member of the EU, Maltese citizens may seek work in all the 15 member countries, in all the new members that will be joining in the coming years, as well as in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway which form part of the European Economic Area.
It should be pointed out that Malta has negotiated a deal which is again different from that made by the European Union with other candidate countries. For a period of seven years after membership, Malta will be able to apply safeguards on the right of EU nationals to work in Malta, even if EU law clearly states that this should not be allowed.
EU citizenship brings with it concomitant measures to ensure the economic, social and cultural integration of EU workers who migrate to another EU country in order to settle and find work there. One example is the rigorous health and safety policy to protect people at their place of work and respects their rights through its social policy.
Workers can also seek help to look for a job abroad. EURES, which is a cooperation network, assists potential mobile workers by providing access to information on job opportunities and living and working conditions in the EU. Moreover, it also assists employers to recruit workers from other countries.
What are the obligations? If we as Maltese citizens are travelling to or working in another EU country, we are expected to respect the laws of that country, including laws dealing with taxation and social security that may apply?
We are also expected to go through the established procedures that will enable us to claim our rights. In any case, national procedures that apply in a particular country should not discriminate between citizens of one country and another on grounds of nationality. In principle, what applies to them should equally apply to us.
Ms Spiteri is an Iva Youths official.