This is a critical year for Europe. It is the year where reflections are being made and decisions must be taken. The European project was established in 1957 to bring peace and prosperity to Europe, following years of wars, civil strife, poverty and destitution. It was a bold decision by the European Union’s founding fathers to put aside their differences and pool in their resources for the common good of the European people.
Ironically, it was Sir Winston Churchill who had advocated a United States of Europe soon after World War II in a speech he delivered to university students in Zurich.
Coincidentally, 2017 is the year in which Malta is in the driving seat of the European Council by way of the rotating presidency. Our presidency could not have come at such a critical time in the EU’s history.
This is the year in which one member has triggered Article 50, thereby initiating the procedures for leaving the bloc after more than four decades as a full member. The decision was taken democratically by sovereign people and it is not up to us to either judge or criticise such a decision, though it is highly regrettable nonetheless. Only time will tell whether such a decision was wise or not. Nevertheless, the EU must move forward on its positive agenda and keep on delivering tangible results for European citizens.
Malta has made it its core mission to focus on issues that matter most to citizens, to focus on issues that make the real difference in their lives. Our motif of REUnion is not a cliché or a marketing stunt to promote our country but a genuine objective because we feel the urgent need for European leaders to reunite with their citizens and squash the populist rhetoric that is finding fertile grounds on our continent.
As the smallest Member State, Malta has again proved its mettle and is giving a purpose to the European future
In real terms, Malta’s steering of legislative files has proven to be a success so far and our performance was commended by none other than Donald Tusk himself during a press conference with Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.
It seems that Malta has beaten the expectations of merely keeping things moving. We have injected a new energy to deliver in such a gloomy period. One of the greatest achievements of our presidency has been the Malta summit, which we hosted on February 3. The results of this summit should not be underestimated because, following the meeting, we hit the ground running and, together with our counterparts, started drafting an implementation plan on the actions agreed to at the summit.
The smallest Member State has managed to secure a tangible political direction at the very highest level on migration in the central Mediterranean.
Ineffective integration management of migrants can result in negative consequences for European cultural and social stability. Yet, the solution to migration does not lie entirely within European borders; we must work on the external dimension of migration, particularly in Africa. The Valletta summit senior officials’ meeting, held the week after the Malta summit, did exactly that.
This is not all. There are other milestones we reached and which merit equal praise such as the agreement with the European Parliament, which our people in Brussels piloted through, on the elimination of roaming charges. As from June 15, mobile phone bills will become cheaper while travelling across Europe. Of equal importance is the agreement on portability where, by the end of this year, we can enjoy our home subscriptions irrespective of our location within the EU. This should be a godsend for thousands of Netflix users. Safety and security is a major concern for all Europeans. On this matter, we have already achieved some considerable results. We have given the final go-ahead to a directive that strengthens the EU’s legal framework in preventing terrorist attacks and we have also agreed on a directive providing for the fight against fraud.
Through the introduction of systematic checks at external borders on all people, including those enjoying free movement, we have ironed out how different security institutions and their systems can be cross-checked without impinging upon the privacy of people.
We have also secured a mandate from Council to start negotiations with the European Parliament on what is commonly known as the entry/exit system. We will be seeing an improvement on the quality of border checks to ensure a reliable identification of overstayers.
Does the EU deliver? Of course, it does. However, the EU, through the Rome process, needs to realign its objectives and its standing on the global political stage.
I only have words of praise for all those involved in the presidency work. Our country has gained priceless knowledge that can be used to our advantage in the years to come.
I am proud that, as the smallest Member State, Malta has again proved its mettle and is giving a purpose to the European future.
Ian Borg is Parliamentary Secretary for the 2017 European Presidency and European Union Funding.