Hoping for Irish yes to Lisbon

The Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty tomorrow is a crucial day for all Europeans. It goes without saying that how the Irish people vote is up to them but the result of the referendum has implications for Malta and the rest of Europe. The Irish, after a lengthy consultation, won a diplomatic victory last year when they secured legally-binding clarifications related to the questions of abortion, tax and their own status of military neutrality and kept their permanent EU commissioner.

This should be an eye opener to all of us Maltese that nothing in the world is set in stone. One should always strive to change anything that appears to be not in the best interest of one's country. We should divest ourselves of any traces of inferiority, which restrict us in asking pertinent questions and fighting for our rights.

As far as Malta is concerned, a yes vote in the Irish referendum will mean more representation in Brussels. Malta will get its sixth seat and the Labour Party its fourth MEP in Brussels. Our new MEP would sit along with others from 11 other EU countries who stand to gain seats in a European Parliament that would be composed of 750 members plus the president.

Secondly, if Lisbon is ratified then Malta will keep its member of the European Commission. When analysing the no vote in the referendum last year, the loss of a permanent Irish commissioner was one of the key concerns that many Irish people had about the new treaty. However, although keeping their commissioner was one of Ireland's "red-lines" in re-negotiating the treaty, it is also good for small member states like Malta as we too will keep our representative in the Commission.

On a more general note, the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty will increase the democratic scrutiny of European legislation. It will extend the power of the European Parliament, providing that all European legislation must be scrutinised by national parliaments and then be agreed by the Council of Ministers, representing each elected EU government, and your MEPs in the European Parliament - an increase of powers for the Parliament in the vital areas of agriculture and fisheries. These will create a level of democratic accountability that exists in no other supra-national organisation. Similarly, all budgetary spending would be subject to agreement by the Parliament and by government ministers.

Under the current treaties, national parliaments have no formal role in EU law making. Legislative decisions are taken by government ministers in the Council of Ministers, in most cases, jointly with the European Parliament. The Lisbon Treaty would give all national parliaments a say on every legislative proposal. Proposals would be sent to national parliaments for their scrutiny before they are discussed by the Council and the European Parliament. This would give national parliaments the opportunity to hold their ministers to account and help shape their position before ministers go off to cut legislative deals in Brussels. National parliaments would also have the power to send legislative proposals back to the Commission if they felt that it breached the subsidiarity principle and that the matter in question should be left to national law.

For this to work in practice, Parliament should already have made preparations. In this regard, I cannot but take note of the recent statement made by the Speaker of the House of Representatives that Parliament is not as prepared for this new role as he would wish, in view of the meagre resources at his disposal. This is quite ironic. The government seems to have found the funds (some €80 million) for a brand new parliamentary building, which nobody has requested, but is not able to support the operating costs required for our Parliament to have the same standing as other EU member states.

The referendum campaign has been a tough battle for a beleaguered Irish government. Sceptics of European integration from across the continent will join the campaign and, although opinion polls indicate that a yes vote is likely, this was also the case last year. But, from a Maltese perspective, it would be a great relief if the reforms contained in the Lisbon Treaty can finally be put into effect. The last thing we need now is to be faced with another institutional crisis at the worst possible time.

I am sure all of Malta's MEPs would agree that our working lives would be better spent working together to repair the damage caused by the financial crisis and preparing for the Copenhagen summit on tackling climate change than spending months and years re-opening the treaties and haggling over small changes to the EU's institutional machinery.

Prof. Scicluna is a Labour member of the European Parliament and vice-president of its economic and monetary affairs committee.