An eventful year

To say that 2008 was an eventful year is an understatement. What with a general election, a new Cabinet, a new Opposition Leader and a change in currency all wrapped up into the space of just 12 months.

Not that things have been quiet on the external front. With a global financial-turned-economic crisis, a botched EU Treaty, an invasion in Georgia and an inspiring first ever black US President, we have been truly left gasping for air.

The New Year celebrations had hardly died down that the parting shot for a general election was fired, arguably the most difficult one for the Nationalist Party since 1996. In the event, victory was snatched from the jaws of sure defeat thanks to a short, yet remarkable, campaign during which people got to know, perhaps for the first time, the Lawrence Gonzi behind the Prime Minister.

Evidently they liked what they saw and it is a pity that they seem to have seen less of the real him since.

With the general election over, my tasks in the European Parliament were back at the centre of my priorities. Throughout this year, my work revolved around four main themes, which occupied most of my time as an MEP. A quick word about each.

Firstly, the challenge of immigration, was kept as a key priority on the EU agenda as Malta registered an all-time record in the number of arrivals. Equally, however, results were registered in terms of managing the challenge. Some examples: a burden-sharing clause was inserted in the EU Immigration Pact and France announced its intention to take 80 immigrants from Malta next year; increased efforts on the return of illegally-staying immigrants; EU Commission plans to turn burden-sharing into a legal obligation by proposing to suspend EU rules (the Dublin Regulation) in the case of countries, such as Malta, facing a disproportionate burden. And a €112 million allocation to help Malta secure its external borders through the procurement of the necessary assets such as patrol boats.

Meanwhile, Frontex patrols were increased to six months and will run on a permanent basis from tomorrow thanks to an increased budget. Although hardly effective in our region, in the case of the Canary Islands, the Frontex mission secured a 70 per cent reduction in the number of arrivals thanks to the cooperation of third countries, such as Senegal and Mauritania.

In the coming weeks I will table my report on a common immigration policy which, I hope, will become the European Parliament's clarion call for translating the Immigration Pact's commitments into concrete action.

Secondly, the European Parliament adopted my report to help combat business scams, such as misleading business directories. Thanks to this report, victims are no longer alone and they can feel safe in refusing to pay until they have alerted their authorities and sought appropriate guidance. The report also calls for more enforcement of EU laws on misleading advertising and a change in law to specifically prohibit misleading business directories. All the while, the report raised a tremendous awareness on the nature of the problem across Europe and helped many potential victims to avoid the trap in the first place.

Thirdly, the need to combat dust caused by the construction industry was another priority and a great deal of work was put into raising awareness on the causes and effects of this problem. To date, Malta remains out of line with EU standards on air quality and I want this unenviable grade to be corrected as soon as possible.

Fourthly, freedom of movement is another central theme on which I receive a large number of queries, many of which I have also tackled in this column. They range from tax issues to the right to live, work or study abroad and from passengers' rights to the use of ID cards at airports.

As I wrote last week, 2008 was a good year for freedom of movement, not least with the introduction of the euro and the entry into Schengen as well as the removal of departure tax and the US visa, all of which made travelling easier and cheaper.

But beyond problems on free movement, defending your EU rights has become very much a by-word for the role of an MEP. Answering queries and taking up the defence of citizens' rights has now become a veritable occupation in its own right.

This, at least, has been my experience and my understanding of this role over the past years.

Speaking of which, the five-year mandate of MEPs runs out next year and we shall have our second European Parliament election on June 6, five full years into EU membership.

Another eventful year beckons...

Happy New Year!

Readers who would like to ask questions to be answered in this column can send an e-mail, identifying themselves, to contact@simonbusuttil.eu or through www.simonbusuttil.eu.

Dr Busuttil is a Nationalist member of the European Parliament.