Maltese businessmen were yesterday in agreement that there needs to be a change in culture when it comes to penetrating the EU’s single market.

Despite Malta’s accession to the EU more than eight years ago, parochialism, an inward-looking attitude and insularity were identified as major stumbling blocks to making inroads into the market of 500 million consumers.

This general view emerged during a seminar organised by the Malta Business Bureau (MBB) and the European Commission representation in Malta during SME week.

Julian Mamo, a businessman active in the insurance sector, said EU accession had “definitely opened the doors for Maltese businesses” even though many were not taking full advantage of it.

Businessmen were starting to find interesting cross-border niches, helped by the development of digital technology, but there was still a long way to go.

Mr Mamo also argued that the EU needed to make sure its strict rules, aiming for the best standards in products and services, did not undermine competitiveness.

“We cannot price ourselves out of the market and whoever is designing the rules has to keep in mind that we are also competing in a free market where China and other emerging economies are competing with us.”

George Micallef, from the tourism industry, said Maltese companies still faced many national barriers in trying to exploit the huge EU market, even if some of them were “natural” due to the island’s small size and geographical position on the periphery.

He argued against the one-size-fits-all rules coming out of Brussels and said countries like Malta and Cyprus should be given special attention by the EU.

In a survey conducted by the MBB among Maltese companies there was agreement across all economic sectors that location and insularity were factors limiting Maltese business operations within the single market.

“While the single market has intensified foreign competition from larger companies in Malta, the same cannot be said about local operators wishing to conduct cross-border business in Europe, who find it harder to compete due to limited capacity and resources,” the MBB study states.

On the positive side, the study concludes that the single market has increased opportunities for product diversification into niche areas, such as pharmaceuticals, i-gaming and the financial services.