At 27 countries and 500 million people the European Union should be a force to be reckoned with. Instead, it is struggling with an economic crisis and political chaos largely of its own making. Far from being a force to be reckoned with, the EU is a spent political and military force. Somewhere along the way the plot was lost.
As far as Brussels is concerned austerity and cost-cutting is only for others- David Marinelli
The drive is now towards greater integration and control. The solution to the banking crisis is placing 6,000 eurozone banks under a Single Supervisory Mechanism which is a new European regulator within the European Central Bank. The solution to the eurozone debt crisis is imposing central budgetary control, under the EU Fiscal Compact, on all but two countries.
Compliance with the Fiscal Compact will be policed by the European Court of Justice. Eurozone countries are now forced to contribute capital to the European Stability Mechanism, which will assist the ailing economies of southern Europe while imposing austerity measures monitored by the ECB and the International Monetary Fund.
The EU already employs, directly and indirectly, 33,033 people and runs an annual Budget worth €125 billion. Apparently, this needs to be increased. There is now a much disputed plan to vote on a seven-year €1 trillion Budget. It would appear that, as far as Brussels is concerned, austerity and cost-cutting is only for others.
Such is German influence over EU policy that decisions on EU matters are really taken in the Bundestag and not the European Parliament, and by the German Chancellor, not the European Commission. We have a monumental and expensive EU civil service and parliament that is de facto run by Germany.
Germany needs a weaker euro as this has, for years, boosted its exports. It has a vested interest in prolonging the crises to keep the euro adequately weak. In the meantime, as its exports to austerity-ridden EU states necessarily decrease, Germany’s marketing effort is directed to north and south America and Asia, reducing its dependence on EU markets.
The push towards the creation of a federalist union is now well under way. The institutions of this EU superstate are being created as the only solution to any problem that is presented. We are told that diversity, independence and democracy are the problem. We cannot have countries run themselves.
Why should democratically elected governments be allowed to run their own countries when EU central control can do it so much better? We are at a crossroads and we cannot continue to submit to a one-rule-fits-all dogma followed by sanctions and penalties for non-compliance. The right balance between common ideals and control needs to be established.
The ideals shared by the peoples of Europe create a common platform for communication and understanding. This is only half the story. The other half is that what would make us strong and relevant in the world is the fact that we are different. European states have diverse economies, cultures, religions, languages, sense of morality, lifestyles, resources and diverse lessons learnt from history.
Governance models such as the ones used in China, India or the US will not work in Europe. The only safeguard to protect our diversity is for each state to remain master of its own destiny through democratically elected representatives. These representatives do not then have the mandate to give away the country’s right to self government without going to the people first and explaining the implications.
Our government, knowingly or unknowingly, is taking Malta towards political and economic integration with at least 17 other EU countries. Malta must continue to be seen as a safe haven by investors and trading partners. An important characteristic of a safe haven, in today’s economic environment, is a sovereign state that is empowered to do whatever it takes to safeguard its own industry and economy. This is critical for the Maltese financial services and manufacturing industries.
We do not need ‘more Europe’ but ‘less Europe’. Our parliament must regain its decision-making powers and stop being an EU rubber stamping mechanism. As a group of European nations we need to cultivate an environment within which countries are allowed to be different.
There is no evidence that uniformity and control create jobs or prosperity. Quite the opposite. We do not need a €1 trillion Budget to do this, either. This new paradigm is not difficult to achieve. What is missing is not the possibility or the vision or the path to get there.
What is missing, sadly, is the political will to take us there.
David Marinelli is chief executive of Portman International, the financial services group.