By the end of this year, the sixth European Parliament will be half way through its term.

A new president will replace Spaniard Josep Borell and MEPs will start looking forward to the final phase of their five-year term.

But things will not only be shifting in Brussels and Strasbourg. Malta will also be experiencing a higher profile as the newly-appointed head of the EP's office in Malta, Julian Vassallo, starts unrolling his agenda.

Dr Vassallo, a lawyer and a diplomat by profession, is not new to EU politics. His passion about Europe has been cultivated since his sixth form days and he admits he almost used to bore his friends with his Euro-speak.

Following 10 years in the diplomatic service, serving Malta's interests in New York and Brussels, Malta joined the EU, and his opportunity arrived.

"I passed the first EU recruitment competition in 2003 and four weeks after Malta joined the Union, I was working in Javier Solana's Policy Planning Unit. From there I could feed Malta's Mediterranean policy concerns directly to the EU's foreign policy chief.

"Then, last July, I jumped at the opportunity to return to Malta and play a more practical role, helping Malta make the most of EU membership by heading the EP's office in Valletta."

In theory, Dr Vassallo's job is a little bit easier than that of his counterparts in the other member states. As politics is almost a passion to the Maltese, many already take an interest in what the EP is doing. This, however, may also mean that Dr Vassallo will have to work harder to make an impact. With a turnout of 82 per cent in the last poll for the European Parliament elections, Malta boasts the highest non-obligatory voter participation in the EU.

Is this good enough? Is his job already done?

"I want to help spread a deeper and better understanding of the EP also as a promoter of the rights of European citizens. Apart from providing the protection of the European Ombudsman and the right of petition, it was the European Parliament that held EU governments accountable on issues like the CIA flights or the transfer of travellers' personal data to US agencies.

"I believe the European Parliament is very relevant to people's lives. Over the past months, our MEPs dealt with very important issues for all of us, such as the quality of the air our children breathe, the departure tax, burden sharing on illegal migration and mobile phone roaming charges. This is our daily bread and butter and my aim is to keep alive this healthy debate."

Working from his office in Republic Street, where the Malta-EU Information Centre (Mic) once had its headquarters, Dr Vassallo admits that the place is not good enough. Together with the Commission's representation, currently in Ta' Xbiex, he is looking forward to being able to give a better service from a newly-refurbished building in St Paul Street, Valletta.

"Our office is approached by a wide variety of people, from those seeking basic knowledge to specific questions on EU funding opportunities. We make every effort to respond to all approaches but we are not yet able to offer the level of service and attention to all requests that the Maltese deserve.

"This will only happen as our staff complement increases and we move to our permanent offices in St Paul Street.

"There we will have a full-blown Info Point and the resources at hand to respond to both the general and the specific requests."

The European Parliament, although a very open institution, is not short of controversy and criticism. Some describe it as one big talking shop, with no real power and others disapprove of what they call the travelling "circus" embarked upon every month when the European Parliament transfers, lock, stock and barrel, for the whole week to the French city of Strasbourg to meet for its plenary.

In reality, it can easily keep going with its business in Brussels and save €200 million a year. But the treaties say otherwise and, thus, despite almost unanimous opposition, apart from the French, all 732 MEPs have to pack their bags every month.

"The cost and inconvenience of the monthly move from Brussels to Strasbourg has sparked a healthy democratic debate over whether this set-up remains feasible," agrees Dr Vassallo. But he adds: "The symbolic importance of Strasbourg on the Franco-German border is lost on many people, including MEPs from newer member states.

"Yes, there is more to the EU today than Franco-German reconciliation. That said, as we seek a viable solution, it is worth remembering that without the counter-intuitive visions particularly of these two countries' leaders half a century ago, there would be no EU for newer member states like Malta, the UK or Poland to join."

Maltese MEPs will also be a priority in Dr Vassallo's brief. In their first experience in the complex world of European politics they have adapted quite well and their initiatives sometimes also make the headlines like in the case of illegal migration. Although Malta has the lowest number of MEPs, five in all, Dr Vassallo thinks that numbers are not the most important thing.

"My impression is that Malta's MEPs have quickly learnt to use the strength that their political groups give them to wield influence beyond their numbers. Cross party cooperation takes place more often than it makes the press. Also, the less divisive culture of the European Parliament allows a member with energy and a good argument to garner broad cross-party support for his initiative. In general I think Maltese MEPs have struck the right balance between focusing on local issues that keep the electorate engaged while not forgetting issues that serve the broader European interest."

What about the media? Is the European Parliament covered enough in Malta?

For Dr Vassallo, the media is central to the work plan of the EP Office and he already plans to engage with all sectors to get the Parliament's message across.

"Scarcely a day goes by without the EP and its members being covered in the print and broadcast media. Even though most local media don't have the advantage of a dedicated EU correspondent, as Allied Newspapers do, I think they are doing quite a good job in keeping the European Parliament very much on Malta's radar.

"It is the intention of the EP Office to build on this by providing local journalists with the tools to take a deeper, more critical look at the business of the EP. We plan to set the tone with the launch this month of malta@europarl, a TV discussion programme that will focus on the EP with recordings taking place in Strasbourg, Brussels and Malta."

May 2009 is E-day for Europe. Elections will once again be held and the Maltese electorate will have to choose its MEPs. Keeping an 82 per cent voter turnout is not an easy task but Dr Vassallo is ready for the challenge.

"For our office, the 2009 European Parliament elections will be a crucial event. We will focus on sustaining the fantastic levels of Maltese voter turnout that we should be proud of. My job is to ensure that by then voters will be going to the polls not only out of party allegiance but also because they understand what is at stake when they choose their five MEPs."

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