Yesterday we celebrated 60 years of the Treaty of Rome – the signature where a grouping of nation states previously at war started on a path to become a borderless space of freedom, prosperity and, above all, peace.
And yet, notwithstanding Europe’s unquestionable achievements for generations of Europeans, including the Maltese, the general mood is not as joyous or optimistic as one would hope for.
Most of those commenting on Europe today, from media quarters and political actors to Facebookers, will point out that the European project is living through difficult times. Some would call it a crisis.
Admittedly, with the first Member State officially calling it quits next week, and ever growing factions of euro-destructive parties being seen across the continent, euro-optimism would seem to be an extinct hobby.
And yet, history teaches us that the European Union has an innate crisis response mechanism which has seen it through from one seemingly impossible situation to another unscathed and strengthened.
Starting from the very same signature of the Treaty of Rome – that which is regarded today as the work of political mammoths like De Gasperi, Adenauer and Schuman – the treaty was, in fact, the plan B to a failed attempt at a political union, including a defence plan. That plan, immortalised in another treaty two years before, never saw the light of day as it was vetoed at ratification stage.
A few years later, with the Treaty of Rome barely starting to deliver its fruits, the then European Economic Community was stalled when De Gaulle walked out of the Council in protest at Commission proposals on agricultural reform.
That led to the so-called empty chair crisis – with France absent from the room for months, until a gentlemen’s agreement was reached with the so-called Luxembourg compromise. This gave every Member State an informal veto to press on issues of imperative national importance.
Barely 10 years pass and a brief but brutal Arab-Israeli war in 1973 provoked an energy crisis followed by economic recession throughout the Union.
These have been, without any doubt, the best 60 years of European history
A few years later, Margaret Thatcher wanted her money back – provoking a sour confrontation between European leaders, culminating in the famous British rebate.
In 1989, German reunification imposed a huge strain on Europe’s biggest purse. In 2004 the Union enlarged to 10 new Member States amid fears of institutional breakdown. In 2005, the long awaited European Constitution was voted down in the Netherlands and in France. In 2008 the Union was hit by the largest global financial crisis.
All these dramatic incidents have a common denominator – they ended up making the Union stronger in reaction to their devastating effects.
The empty chair crisis in 1966 means that today, tiny Malta, with its relative voting power, will not be overridden in Council without due attention to its interests in cases that matter to the Maltese citizens.
The financial crisis of the 1970s may be seen as the birth place of the euro, demonstrating the virtues of closer monetary and economic integration, while the crisis of 2008 was certainly the trigger for a more serious European economic governance that now allows us to keep our government in check, with clear criteria measured by trusted third parties.
The collapse of the European Constitution in 2005 was a lesson for us to take stock that European citizens want Union benefits but they do not necessarily need a common anthem and a common constitution called as such.
It all looks easy looking back. Problem is that we have two other life-size challenges just around the corner. Brexit will challenge our unity and affect our pockets. The UK’s contribution to the EU budget is roughly as much as that of all the nine Member States that joined the EU with Malta in 2004. To start with, its departure will leave a hole in the EU budget.
The rise of populism riding an anti-European agenda in France, Germany, Italy and elsewhere threatens the project with potential political shocks. And yet, a look back at history tells us that the Union is well experienced in handling these tough situations.
In the meantime, the European Union has enabled today’s grandmothers to see their sons and grandsons grow up in peace and prosperity through generalised economic growth, unprecedented employment and business opportunities, and unprecedented freedoms – from buying to studying to working – in any one of the 28 Member States of the Union.
These have been, without any doubt, the best 60 years of European history.
Malta has shared in the benefits of these 60 years, especially since 2004 when we became part of the European family.
Since then, our GDP has practically doubled. We host high-end service industries that we did not imagine 20 years ago. Thousands of Maltese have worked and studied abroad in the last years alone while more than €1 billion in EU funds have trickled in, embellishing our beautiful islands from St Elmo to the Citadel.
It is hence with good reason that we should all say Happy Birthday to this 60-year endeavour, and cheers to another 60!