Ivan Camilleri
Drake set to migrate to Brussels
Joanna Drake
Malta's first European Commission representative Joanna Drake is expected to move on to Brussels in the coming months, The Sunday Times has learnt.
Dr Drake, a prominent EU figure for several years following her role in the Iva Movement and as a former Nationalist MEP candidate in the 2004 elections, has passed an internal exam making her eligible to start a new career as a top functionaire of the EU's civil service.
The concours examination was held a few months before the end of the current Commission's five-year mandate and was only open to candidates who were already part of the EU's civil service, both on a full-time or a temporary contract.
Dr Drake assumed the post of head of the Commission's representation in Malta in 2005 but has been involved in EU affairs since the beginning of her career.
Apart from specialising in EU affairs in her legal studies, she also worked at Malta's embassy to the EU in Brussels for several years and lectured EU law on a full-time basis at the University of Malta. She narrowly missed out on a seat in the 2004 EP elections.
Dr Drake is not the only successful Maltese candidate for this highly-sought after position which comes with a net €10,000 monthly salary among other perks. Another two Maltese candidates, Iain Formosa who is a junior head of unit at the EU's Joint Research Centre in Ispra, northern Italy, and Raymond Pisani, another Brussels-based Maltese EU official, also made the grade.
Until now, Malta was the least represented member state when it comes to senior EU posts. However, following the last internal selection the situation has improved.
Still, Malta remains absent from the topmost positions in the EU's bureaucratic hierarchy as no Maltese citizen has so far been appointed to the position of Director General or Deputy Director General despite the fact the EU has reserved one of these posts specifically for a Maltese national.
Although various top Maltese officials, including ambassadors and senior civil servants have applied for these posts in the past five years, none was considered suitable by the Commission. Instead, these posts have been occupied by candidates from other new EU member states.
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22 Comments
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claire farrugia
Sep 2nd 2009, 07:51
@franco farrugia
sorry maybe I am not as intelligent as Ms/Mrs Drake and others who make it to such posts and that is why I cannot understand your point
Franco Farrugia
Sep 1st 2009, 14:50
@ Ms Claire Farrugia - You have understood nothing from what I tried to say.
claire farrugia
Aug 31st 2009, 14:54
@franco farrugia
so I will tell her wish her luck and God bless for her achievement, cause that is what you want to hear it seems, if it makes you happy....
claire farrugia
Aug 31st 2009, 13:16
@r.gauci
thanks for your comment i agree with you completely
young qualified people are leaving malta, they are leaving their parents and families behind, we are going to have a lot of elderly who will have nobody to take care of them cause their children are living abroad and the government has to cater for this with more old people's home places..... this new migration should not be taken mildly, it will even effect our social health care systems
Franco Farrugia
Aug 31st 2009, 12:52
@ Claire Farrugia - Now THERE I would agree with you. But how can you honestly expect a goverment of a quasi-bankrupt country such as ours to bring salaries up to international scale? I would wish it, everyone would wish it but I would also wish not to have to work at all!! But to bemoan the fact that some Maltese people are making it to various European institutions abroad - not thanks to people's votes and Party machinery, mind, but thanks to their brains and to their hard academic work, also known as studying!!! - is plain dumb and stupid. These people are not blue-eyed. These are people who sat for exams, people who may have been waiting months before they were called. And we meet such news with howls of disgust!!
PS I apologise for having mixed up metaphors: 'crying over spilt milk' suddenly went to bed with 'sour grapes' and for which I apologise before I am rebuked by some know-all.
claire farrugia
Aug 31st 2009, 06:53
@franco farrugia
I understand your point of course, but the government should still be doing something so that it becomes more attractive for a Maltese to work in malta, many maltese firms will have problems finding good, qualified employees and will have to get foreigners just because the most qualified Maltese are working abroad. and this will happen very soon if things go on like that, ..... Most of these Maltese did their tertiary education in malta, but are leaving as soon as they finish and never come back and I am not just talking about the medical profession but all sorts of professions. And these are people who would be highly needed in Malta.
R.Gauci
Aug 31st 2009, 00:55
@ Randolph Peresso
You are right No one and nothing is keeping from living in Ireland Randolph especially GonziPN!!
Just the fact I have my family in Malta unfortunetly!!
Why should Maltese people leave their mother land when they were promised a better future if they joined the EU? They never said that we had to go abroad to find this!!
Do you remember the promises that we would had same standard of living and benefits as the Irish people got or you forgot them?
In these past 5 years we got record inflation that is highest cost of living,record illegal immigrants coming to Malta, record increase in Goverment finances deficit ,record increase in children suffering from ashma and other respiratory problems which reflect the high pollution and the poor envoirment Maltese are living in !! Shall I continue?!
Did we got an increase in the GDP per capita which should reflect a better quality of life? NO
When the PN said" IVA ghalina u ghal uliedna" he was meaning that cause the few are getting the benefits and that's a fact which cannot be denied by the statistics!!
So come on mate and call a spade spade!!
P. Caruana
Aug 30th 2009, 22:14
The journalist seems more interested in her salary ! As a maltese, I feel proud of Joanna having succeeded a top post in an EU Institution (like other EU nationals) as she deserves. After all, she passed a tough exam competing with other EU nationals and anyone can study, compete and have her same salary with responsibilities. Well done Ms Drake and wish you all the best...and all the Maltese should be proud of your achievements.
Franco Farrugia
Aug 30th 2009, 19:46
@ Claire Farrugia - Actually, I passed that comment tongue-in-cheek since I know that nobody has those kind of stupid principles. The EU is here to stay; Malta is a member of the EU for good. Therefore, it is only right for Maltese citizens to find jobs and hold positions in the European institutions - whyever not? Moreover, it is IMPORTANT that Maltese citizens join other citizens in holding such positions. If we don't fill up our share, the others will. So? Well, I rather think this all amounts to crying over sour grapes. Anyway, years ago, we had the opportunity of making use of the expertise of Ms Drake and we did not. Her loss was our loss as well. So, I think that overall, she is doing well for herself.
claire farrugia
Aug 30th 2009, 19:30
@franco farrugia
exactly we have principles keeping us away from abusing european tax money in this way at the expense of simple citizens who would not pass such a test anyway
Michael Harrison
Aug 30th 2009, 19:29
I wish you all the best, Dr. Joanna. You truly deserve it. Mike
Franco Farrugia
Aug 30th 2009, 19:12
@ IGalea - and all those who are grumbling at this news, why don't you sit for such exams and testes? Then, you will be able to join the gravy train!. Oh, I forgot: you have principles that keep you from doing such an exam. Well, the lady has stamina and she deserves it, well done.
claire farrugia
Aug 30th 2009, 17:44
for a salary of 10,000 a month net income i would be prepared to go even to Antartica......
@efrem buhagiar
of course we have the choice now, but not everyone has the freedom to go abroad
what about the maltese who decide to work in malta? why should they be earning so little when the consumer prices are so high? are you working abroad too?
lgalea
Aug 30th 2009, 17:37
Efrem Buhagiar
Only for the selected few who promoted the eu at the expense of the rest.
The rest should do their utmost to get Malta out of the eu because they are paying for the chosen few.
Joseph Schembri
What about the perks Joseph?
Efrem Buhagiar
Aug 30th 2009, 16:26
Congratulations to Dr. Drake!
@ R Gauci
The EU gave the opportunity to make more use from freedom of movement within the EU region. EU membership gave the Maltese more job opportunities with varying salaries. At the end of the day, it's up to the individual to decide whether or not to pursue a carreer in his homeland or abroad..good luck to both!
Lilian and John Dingli
Aug 30th 2009, 16:05
Wish to congratulate you on this most prestigous position and we are confident Malta will be represented by the most suitable person - you truly and honestly rightly deserve this position. Good luck and God bless you always.
claire farrugia
Aug 30th 2009, 16:05
@r.Gauci
but it is not fair on the maltese who decide to stay in malta
first of all our best academics and professionals are leaving the island and living abroad or working in Brussels
it is the few who decide to stay in Malta, especially young people
as a result malta has to get several workers from abroad, when maltese could do the job but the maltese do not want to do it and prefer to go abroad cause they get paid twice or three times as much for the same work with better conditions
the governement should see how to make malta more attractive for younger professionals and academics, otherwise he is losing the best talent to Europe and other countries
Dr. John Zammit
Aug 30th 2009, 15:19
On behalf of the ALLEANZA LIBERALI - www.freewebs.com/liberalalliance - who is in favour of Malta in the European Union (that is why we left the Malta Labour Party) I congratulate Dr. Joanna Drake and wish her success in her carrier in Brussels.
Randolph Peresso
Aug 30th 2009, 14:45
@ R Gauci
No one is keeping you from living in Ireland!!!!
R.Gauci
Aug 30th 2009, 12:03
@ Claire Farrugia
Maltese Benefit = 0 as usual !
To benefit from the EU you just have to leave Malta and work and live abroad that's the only real benefit the normal citizen got by the accession in the EU!!
I can say that even if I am living in Ireland which had been hitten bad by the recession its much better !!
So may be Dr. Drake got fed up too to live in a shaby country and took the good opportunity after all its what she had worked for!!
Joseph Schembri
Aug 30th 2009, 11:55
I clearly remember an interview with this woman on radio 101 in the late 90's. The interviewer asked Mrs Drake whether there was some agenda that was so not so overt seeing that she pushed for joining the EU with such vigour. She answered in the negative, saying something along the lines that what she was doing was for the common good only.
E 10,000 a month you say?
claire farrugia
Aug 30th 2009, 11:05
net 10,000 monthly, great, this is all paid from the taxes of european citizens!!!!!!!!!!!!!i pay a lot of taxes here in germany, now i know for what :-))))
how will the maltese citizens profit from this? those who are living in malta and do not have a career with the EU??????