James Satariano, the chairman of the Institute of Directors Malta (IoD), has announced that although no one can predict with any great accuracy what the EU will look like in 10 years’ time, IoD Malta is holding an important event in conjunction with the British High Commission and the Malta Institute of Management to highlight opportunities and threats for the Maltese islands related to Brexit .
The event, entitled What Future Is There For Malta, Britain And The EU After Brexit?, will be held at the MFSA Conference Room next month and features three keynote speakers moderated by IoD Malta’s representative to ecoDa (European Confederation of Directors’ Associations), Edwin Ward.
Mr Satariano stresses that an impressive list of speakers has been assembled for this IoD event which starts at 3pm on Friday, December 2: British High Commissioner Stuart Gill, and well-known business author Roger Barker, a UK member of the European Economic and Social Committee (the EU advisory body), senior advisor to the board of the ecoDa and chairman of the ecoDa Education Programme for European Directors.
Mr Satariano said: “Strong internal disintegration forces exist both in the UK as well as in the EU. They create negative dynamics, hampering the economic governance of the eurozone as well as the success of any common migration policy. Solidarity is being undermined, which makes the commonly envisaged scenario of an integrated core EU surrounded by a reluctant periphery a less credible option.”
Mr Satariano continued, “Nevertheless, two external phenomena are creating a dialectic that could be stronger than the internal European disputes. Security will become ever more crucial: the continent is surrounded by authoritarian countries, such as Russia and Turkey, as well as unstable regions from Africa to the Middle East. Islamist terrorism is threatening our cities. Irrespective of the US election and Trump’s unexpected success, the American presence in Europe will surely be reduced, and as a former president of the Maltese-American Chamber of Commerce I am well versed in the American situation in Europe. The need to tackle defence issues could result in a leap towards integration. Security crisis management has little to do with a rules-based EU dealing mainly with the economy. This could result in deep splits in the EU, or save it.”
In conclusion Mr Satariano said, “In a globalised world, scale is of the utmost importance. European integration is vital, to secure favourable trade deals and to safeguard data protection or intellectual property rights. It is time to admit that the best way to remain sovereign is to pool our national sovereignties. The withdrawal of the UK, which, for example, blocked the adoption of anti-dumping measures against China might help the EU to be more assertive in delivering what its citizens expect in times of globalisation. In an uncertain geopolitical environment, and taking into account the costs and difficulties of Brexit, it will become increasingly evident that a marriage of convenience can look better than a divorce. Malta has a role in all of this and that is what we will be discussing in-depth at the MFSA on December 2.”
To register for the IoD Brexit event kindly contact secretarial services by e-mail: ssl@go.net.mt or call 2133 6507, IoD members and MIM members benefit from a reduced fee of €45 while non-members may attend at €55.