Philippines challenge for EP Malta head

Malta’s European Parliament office head, Julian Vassallo, will leave for the Philippines in the coming weeks to take up a post in the EU’s new Foreign Service.

Speaking to The Sunday Times in Brussels after completing a week of intensive training, the lawyer and seasoned diplomat, who will head the Political Unit in Manila, said he was looking forward to the challenge.

“I am very excited about this new opportunity even though heading the European Parliament office in Malta has been a rewarding experience,” he said.

“At the same time, Manila is not exactly similar to Valletta. It’s a Third World country and there are many challenges ahead,” he said.

Politically the Philippines are given a lot of importance by the EU, which has a 50-strong delegation in the capital.

A founding member of the South Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Philippines has a Partnership and Co-operation Agreement with the EU and benefits from tens of millions of euros in development aid. The country has also a large presence of UN agencies.

Dr Vassallo said the political section of the EU delegation in Manila was also involved in the ongoing peace negotiations with the Muslim-dominated southern island of Mindanao which is seeking significant autonomy.

The Filipino government asked the EU to act as a broker in these negotiations which have recently made progress.

Apart from being, until a few weeks ago, Malta’s only partner in the world without divorce legislation, the Philippines also hosts the Maltese Missionary Society of St Paul (MSSP) which undertakes many social projects for the country’s poor.

Looking back, Dr Vassallo is satisfied with his work in Malta. “We have managed to instil much more awareness about the work of the European Parliament in Malta. The last election of MEPs and the introduction of the euro were both very important challenges where we managed to make our presence felt,” he said.

During the most recent EP elections in 2009, Malta’s participation in the EU-wide poll ranked first among the 27 member states which do not have obligatory voting.