The fifth European seat

The cautiously optimistic view by the Prime Minister on his return from the December EU summit seems to indicate that if a second Irish referendum is held and it proves positive then there is the likelihood that Malta would gain its sixth seat in the European Parliament within the next few years. This would be very good for Malta, which has seen its call for this additional seat ebbing and flowing with the ups and downs of the ratification process of the Lisbon Treaty in the other 26 nations.

In the past, when everything seemed positive for an early ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, which would have automatically given Malta its sixth parliamentary seat as from this year's election, there had been a sustained call for this extra seat to be allocated to Gozo in line with the desire of all political parties to make of Gozo a definite region within the EU. No official reaction to this was forthcoming. However, in September 2007 agreement had been reached between the two parties represented in the House of Representatives ensuring that, in future elections, Gozo would maintain its status as a distinct electoral district. This was considered to be important enough to be entrenched in the Constitution, which ensured that it could only be amended by the votes of two thirds of members of the House.

This event was very welcomed by the Gozitans who had strongly opposed the decision of the Electoral Commission to strip away the village of Għajnsielem and join it with another electoral district in Malta.

This event, perhaps overlooked by many, introduced a principle that, voting-wise, ensured for Gozo its territorial integrity in spite of the fluctuations of votes in the various electoral districts nationally. The Gozitans are now looking forward to a logical extension of this principle in the coming election for members of the European Parliament scheduled for June. In other words, there is a strong feeling that if Parliament felt that it should ensure that the Gozo electorate would always vote in a separate electoral district in national elections there is no reason why they should not do so in elections for the European Parliament. This desideratum assumes a more logical basis after the constitutional amendments of September 2007.

It is therefore suggested that we do not await the positive result of an Irish referendum, which has not even been announced, or the ratification in a country led by a Eurosceptic government. A Gozo representative in the European Parliament should not be dependent on voters in a hypothetical Irish referendum.

If the principle is accepted that Gozo as a region within Europe deserves a seat in the European Parliament then action should be taken to bring into effect this principle for this year's election. The fifth seat in the five seats presently allocated to Malta should without further delay be placed at the disposal of voters in the electoral division of the region of Gozo. If eventually things turn out as we all wish and the sixth seat is allocated to Malta then it will be contested for by voters in Malta alone.

For Gozo to be represented as it deserves, it needs to have its own seat. Simply fielding a candidate from Gozo does not absolve political parties from the accusation that Gozo suffers from a representational deficit in Europe, which only they can remedy. No candidate from Gozo is able to reach out to the national electorate with a sporting chance of garnering enough votes to be elected. If the political parties honestly wish to have a Gozo representative in the European Parliament there is no alternative but to declare the Gozo electoral district a distinct division for the purposes of the elections to the European Parliament and this with immediate effect.

francomasini@gmail.com