A great privilege

As e-day approaches, it is time to start summing up and to put forward my record as your representative in the European Parliament for your consideration, and judgement.

When, five years ago, I set foot in the European Parliament as one of the first five Maltese MEPs, two things struck me most.

The first is that it is an extraordinary honour to represent Malta in a continental parliament that represents half a billion citizens from twenty seven countries.

You are entrusted by your voters to represent them in the only directly-elected multi-national parliamentary assembly in the world and to contribute to making Europe and, in turn, your own country, a better place.

You walk into the parliamentary building every morning with a great sense of pride that, in your work, you are representing your whole country, not part of it. And you set about working to repay that trust and to transmit, through your conduct, that sense of national pride back to the people who put you there.

To make them, likewise, feel proud of you and of their country.

The second thing that struck me most upon my election was how one single MEP could make a difference in such a large assembly of more than seven hundred members.

What do you do and how do you do it?

Upon election you really start from scratch. You know no one and you do not even know the rules of procedure, let alone how to use them. No wonder that newcomers take the best part of their first year in office, if not two, to grasp how the system works. And many remain lost for much longer.

There was only one way of overcoming this hurdle - it was to get down to work - as hard as possible.

Below is a synopsis of my work in figures. Through these initiatives I have sought to make a difference and to represent your interests in a serious and dignified manner.

It has been a great privilege to have been entrusted to do so.

Track record

9: Participated in nine parliamentary committees and delegations

15: Prepared two parliamentary reports, three opinions and ten motions for resolutions

27: Amended twenty seven parliamentary reports

79: Addressed seventy nine conferences in Malta and abroad

92: Spoke in plenary ninety two times

121: Submitted 121 parliamentary questions

4526: Replied to 4526 "Ask Your MEP" queries from the public