Strengthening nationhood

I refer to Josè Herrera's suggestion (February 10) that Malta should join EFTA as an alternative to European Union membership.

The European Free Trade Area was originally a seven nations club which comprised Britain, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, Austria and Portugal and was created in the late 1950s as a counterweight to the Common Market of the Six - France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg.

Within a matter of a few years EFTA began to disintegrate, undermined by obvious weaknesses in comparison to the Common Market of the Six that had a political framework in which to thrive and strengthen its position.

Britain, the promoter and virtually the founder of EFTA, was the first one to quit. Its 1963 application to join the Common Market was rejected, mainly by France or rather by De Gaulle, on grounds that it was not European enough in its outlook. The final British application in 1975, under the Heath government, was accepted and the country joined the European Community.

The other EFTA countries were in disarray and over the years most of them made an exit from the club and joined the EU. Today the EFTA survivors are Iceland, Norway and Switzerland (Liechtenstein is a geographical part of Switzerland; it consists of 11 villages with 30,000 inhabitants and will follow what Switzerland does).

It is known that both Switzerland and Iceland are having a major rethink and it will not be surprising if they will hold another referendum. Oil rich Norway is not certain about its position either. Apart from the regulations and obligations determined by the EU by which they have to abide, EFTA countries are now saddled with higher financial contributions to pay for the costs of the enlargement of the EU if they want to enjoy the benefits of the vast free European market.

The fate of EFTA is another historical example that free trade areas between different regions or states do not last very long unless political union is also an objective.

To relegate Malta to a moribund club of surviving EFTA states is to make it renounce to the financial, social and cultural benefits obtaining from membership of the EU and to isolate the island from the bulk of the European family. There are several important projects in Malta that are beyond the capabilities of the Maltese exchequer and which need a helping hand from European funds. In addition, should by misfortune an economic crisis supervene, the island will find itself in a state of isolation with no one to turn to.

Today, national interest transcends full sovereignty, a status so dear to Eurosceptics yet so divisive and futile. Independence and full sovereignty in the modern interdependent world would involve more humiliation than triumph. Far from endangering the Maltese sense of nationhood, the European dimension could well have the effect of strengthening it.