Concluding the Labour Party’s annual general conference last Sunday, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat gave an upbeat, passionate speech as he laid out his vision of the country as “Maltese, European and global”.

Dr Muscat said he wanted to turn Malta into a land of opportunity, equality and innovation, adding that this was the way to become a global model.

Nobody can disagree with this vision, and we have certainly come close to achieving these goals since we gained independence, and especially so since the ‘silent revolution’ that took place post-1987 when the country’s economy was fundamentally restructured, and democracy and the rule of law was safeguarded. Malta’s EU membership was also a huge catalyst for opening up opportunities, promoting equality and spurring innovation.

Dr Muscat is right, however, to warn against the country resting on its laurels, and to take everything for granted just because we are EU members; his emphasis to look beyond Europe for economic growth and opportunities is therefore understandable.

However, this has to be put into perspective: over half our exports go to EU markets, 70 per cent of our imports come from the EU, our tourists are mainly European, our national airline flies mainly to European destinations and most of our embassies are in European capitals.

We are a tiny European country in the middle of the Mediterranean and our EU membership allows us to engage with the international community in a way that would never have been possible had we opted not to join the bloc.

This does not mean we should not find a niche for Malta outside Europe whenever this is possible. For example, a large portion of our foreign direct investment in the financial services sector, without doubt a success story, comes from outside the EU.

Certainly, we should try to attract more investment from and increase our business links with countries like the US, China (the government seems very keen on this market), the Gulf states, Libya (when the situation finally settles) and other emerging markets such as Brazil and India.

But we must never harbour any illusions that these markets will one day replace our core European markets.

Addressing his party’s conference, Dr Muscat highlighted the controversial citizenship scheme as an example of the government’s innovative ideas to acquire funds and make Malta a global model.

While such a scheme, if handled properly, could maybe have boosted our global standing, this was certainly not the case. Unfortunately, Malta merely came across in the international media as a Caribbean offshore financial centre selling passports on the cheap.

Dr Muscat also reiterated his government’s determination to be pro-business and to reduce the level of bureaucracy in the country to encourage businesses to flourish. This is welcome, and since its election, Labour has indeed adopted a pro-business stand.

However, the increase in the unemployment figures over the past 10 months, while not alarming, is cause for concern, and the government needs to make job creation and boosting economic growth more of a priority. Grand speeches about Malta being a land of opportunity and innovation are all very well, but in the end, the first measure of a government’s success is the creation of jobs.

Malta needs to make sure it has the best relations with its EU partners and with the European Commission if it wants to continue thriving and promoting itself. Dr Muscat also needs to be realistic.

As much as we should aim to be “global”, let us not forget that size does matter in the scheme of things.