Current developments in the EU, in particular Germany’s attitude to the new Greek government, and the repercussions that a lack of agreement would have on other EU members, not least Malta, and the eurozone, reminds me of a string of personal experiences involving Malta’s relations with these two countries. During my 13 years as Malta’s representative at the UN in Geneva I dealt with these relations, but it was as secretary at the Foreign Affairs Ministry from 1987 that these relations became more interwoven.
At a reception given by John Manduca at his Mdina residence before he took up duties as Malta’s High Commissioner in London in 1987, I got engaged in a deep discussion with the German ambassador Goffried Pagenstert. I do not remember what the subject was, but we felt the need to detach ourselves from the other guests, including my wife. Noel Buttigieg Scicluna kept her company, both keeping an eye on us.
At one point, Buttigieg Scicluna told my wife that he had concluded that the German ambassador and myself could never see eye to eye. He did not reach this conclusion through lip-reading, but due to the fact that Pagenstert was over six feet tall and I was about a foot shorter. It was a jocular remark, taken in good spirit, that he may not even remember, but which became imprinted in my mind, and which I recalled whenever I met the German ambassador.
Two years later, when I was an adviser to Eddie Fenech Adami, who had taken on the foreign affairs portfolio in addition to that of prime minister, he asked me to talk to Pagenstert. He wanted me to express our disappointment at Germany’s lukewarm support for Malta’s intention to apply for membership of the EU.
The ambassador was defensive in his reaction, but did not contradict our impression. I urged him to do more to persuade his government to support our cause. He defended himself by saying that we were not appreciative enough of his efforts to promote our bilateral relations. As an example he quoted his intervention on behalf a Maltese citizen who had been arrested in a European country. He spoke to his minister for justice asking him to appeal to his counterpart in the third country, to downplay the incident, and in fact, this arrest, which had initially attracted the Maltese media, disappeared off the local radar.
I guessed what he was referring to and I pointed out that we had never asked him to take the initiative, which did not concern his country. His reply was that he had been approached by a minister, and that the arrested person had a tenuous relationship with a member of his staff. I had to control my reaction, pointing out that bilateral relations are conducted via the respective foreign ministries, and that personal favours should not be confused with national policies. In any case, putting Malta’s aspiration for EU membership on the same level as a favour to a person under arrest was simply not serious.
As a parting shot, he offered me some advice. He informed me that he had been a guest of Dom Mintoff for lunch at L-Għarix. He had been impressed with the conversation between them, as the ex-prime minister prepared the lunch. His advice to me was that we should put Mintoff on a pedestal, and Malta’s problems would be solved. This was when the ‘presidential pedestal’ had finally been filled after a lapse of two years, by Ċensu Tabone, and after the nasty incident at a wedding in Żejtun in June of that year.
For once, my diplomatic approach left me and I asked him if he would mind if I gave him advice. He did not object and my answer was: “Would you mind your own business?”
I told him how Mintoff had confronted almost everyone: the former leader of his own party, the Church, judiciary, doctors, teachers, senior members of the armed forces, and successive commissioners of police. I also reminded him of clashes with Germany on the Deutsche Welle transmission station, and the threat to vote in favour of the GDR (East Germany), and against the policy of his own government, in the UN Economic Commission for Europe. I have no idea what he reported back to Bonn, but he showed me more respect after that meeting.
However, Malta’s application for EU membership did cause some friction. At the 1992 EU Lisbon Summit it was decided to open negotiations for membership with some EFTA countries but not with Malta and Cyprus. Malta had been included up to the very last moment but it was struck out during the night. This episode is dealt with in the autobiographies of Eddie Fenech Adami, Guido de Marco and myself. Which country had decided on that deletion? Fingers pointed at Germany, but that was a half truth. Italy’s promotion of Malta’s membership had been generally favoured, but Greece’s for Cyprus met resistance, not least because of its divided state. Greece dug its heels on Cyprus being included, and Germany’s solution, presented at the last minute, was to leave out both Cyprus and Malta.
The French ambassador to Malta told me Italy had not pressed hard enough. When I became resident ambassador to Spain, all Spanish politicians told me we had to separate our application from that of Cyprus, when, in fact, we had not established such a link. The Greek ambassador tried to be reassuring. He pointed out that Germany was insisting on EU membership for Central and Eastern European countries who had left the Soviet orbit, and wanted to join the EU. If Germany was to have its way it would have to give in on Cyprus, and Malta.
Eventually, the Greek ambassador was proved right.
I wonder what relevance, if any, there is between the above and the present opposing views of Germany and Greece. Are we to see an EU, or a eurozone, with Cyprus but without Greece? What positions will the other EU member states, including Malta, take? And if a compromise is reached, what will it be, and how will it affect Malta?
Evarist Saliba is a former ambassador and secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.