'Fort Cambridge, the Euro and my broken pavement'

The heavily contested real estate project of Fort Cambridge in Sliema was a concern to more than a quarter of the Maltese who wrote to the European Parliament during 2007 and 2008.

During the past two years 55,495 Europeans wrote directly to the EP and its President, Hans-Gert Pöttering. They asked questions about the EU and their personal disputes with their own governments, agencies and local councils.

A breakdown of this figure, which does not include people who went directly to their MEPs, shows that the most inquisitive citizens came from France, Germany, Italy, the UK and Spain - the Member States that have been in the EU the longest.

Questions from Malta

236 questions, 0.43 per cent of the total, were sent by Maltese. They had to do with:

- Problems with the government and local councils (33%).

Many Maltese asked questions on court cases they were involved in. Many complained about the application of criminal or family law, while others asked about the rights in the internal market and Schengen area.

- Powers, organisation and activities of the EP and its Members (28%).

The activities of MEPs attracted increasing attention as election year got closer. Some petitioned the EP and posted requests directed to specific MEPs depending on their areas of interest. There were also applications from employment and requests to visits to Brussels, Strasbourg and Luxembourg.

- Fort Cambridge (28%).

Many approached the EP about the controversial Sliema project.

- Monetary and economic policy and the Euro (11%).

Malta's adoption of the Euro in January 2008 was another concern commonly raised, together with issues on taxes and prices. Requests for funding were not uncommon.

What were Europeans' main concerns on the EU?

• External relations of the EU, human rights and immigration

• Economy, finance and EU funding

• EU law

• Environment and wellbeing of animals

• Internal market and free movement

• Enlargement

• The 'EP on a day to day basis' (the role of EP, activity of MEPs and their contact details, requests for documents, traineeships and how to table a petition)

Did the questions vary from country to country?

While most questions had to do with the 27 Member States, there were questions that had to do with specific issues.

In Malta, for example, the heavily contested real estate project of Fort Cambridge accounted for 28 per cent of mail received by the EP. In Spain, the matter of recognition of Catalan as an official language accounts for 15 per cent of the messages. In Germany, 2 per cent of the messages had Islam as a subject.