European Commission President-elect Jean-Claude Juncker’s decision to give Karmenu Vella the environment portfolio as well as maritime affairs and fisheries, when he announced his new team of commissioners last week, came as a surprise to many observers in Malta.
Mr Vella, nominated as Malta’s next commissioner by Joseph Muscat during his Cabinet reshuffle last March, was widely expected to be given the fisheries portfolio. While the addition of maritime affairs is not unprecedented – Malta’s former commissioner Joe Borg was given responsibility for these two policy areas – it was the inclusion of the environment brief that surprised many.
Besides the fact that the Environment Commissioner is usually not given additional responsibilities, it was the choice of Malta’s commissioner for this portfolio that caused eyebrows to be raised.
Malta does not exactly have an impressive environmental record, the result of neglect by successive governments over the years.
This government has certainly not given the environment the importance it deserves. Dr Muscat has suggested that Dubai could be a model for Malta and his government has presided over a ‘build now, sanction later’ practice in the country.
In addition, the government has been bending over backwards to appease the hunting lobby, it removed certain restrictions on spring hunting and has reintroduced bird trapping, all of which will lead to clashes with Brussels. Furthermore, some of our environmental standards, such as air quality, are extremely poor.
There is no doubt that Mr Vella has been given an important portfolio, perhaps the best ever to be held by a Maltese commissioner, and it is up to him of course to make a success of it. His first hurdle, however, will be his grilling at the European Parliament at the end of the month, where he will not only be questioned about his competence in the areas he has been assigned – he has little experience in European affairs – but also about Malta’s environmental record.
Mr Vella will have to convince MEPs that he is capable of handling the portfolio assigned to him, but more importantly, that he will ensure that the EU’s environmental regulations are abided by throughout the 28-member bloc, including, of course, Malta. He must also make it clear that he will not hesitate to institute legal proceedings against Malta should the country ignore its EU environmental obligations.
The veteran politician, who has ministerial experience, can also be expected to be questioned about his political past, including the fact that he was a Cabinet minister in the 1981-1987 Labour government at a time when democracy and civil liberties were eroded.
He is also likely to be asked about his and his party’s past opposition to Malta’s membership of the EU. These are things Mr Vella has to come to terms with.
On the whole, Mr Juncker seems to have got off to a good start. His commission includes five former prime ministers and four former deputy prime ministers, while seven vice-presidents have been appointed for key areas such as growth, better regulation and energy, three of whom are women.
A number of senior appointees are from eastern European states, giving the commission a better balance between new and old members, and a number of the new commissioners with economic portfolios are known to be reformists. Mr Juncker said his new team was “geared to give Europe its new start”, which it undoubtedly needs.
Over the next five years Mr Juncker and his new European Commission must focus on strengthening the eurozone economy, restoring European citizens’ faith in the EU project and preventing the United Kingdom from leaving the bloc. This is a tall order indeed, but the new commission President seems to have put the right team in place, and made a good first step.