On July 1, Croatia became the 28th country to join the European Union. Despite the fiscal problems it had to deal with, especially the perennial euro debt crisis, enlargement has been the EU’s most successful policy.

In the run-up to joining the EU, similar to other jurisdictions, political parties in Croatia debated extensively about the pros and cons of accession. However, the million-dollar question that remains unanswered is: what is the cost of staying out?

In the run-up to Malta’s referendum, although I had made up my mind given the parameters at the time, I tried to reflect on the question: what is the cost of Malta staying out? A difficult one to answer, indeed.

Today, after nine years of accession, surely, EU membership has provided us with more pluses than minuses. I recall certain quarters scaremongering that, once we join, Sicilian workers would come and rob Maltese workers of their jobs.

While not believing any of this nonsense, it is a state of fact that our country is losing most of its brain power.

It is a state of fact that our country is losing most of its brain power

Malta’s accession to the EU permitted our youth to pursue postgraduate studies at much cheaper rates than before.

I myself can vouch for this having done my MA in the UK in 1993/94. I was already married and being partly financed by the University’s commercial arm I had to come back to Malta.

Given the reduced registration fees for EU citizens such is not the case anymore and our young talent is able to read for an MA or PhD and then decide what to do.

In most cases, such people do not come back and it is a reality that other jurisdictions are enjoying the benefits.

The same thing is happening to Croatia with an estimated 10,000 young people leaving every year.

Unlike Malta, there isn’t enough funding for such young talented students to pursue their studies let alone find a job, which justifies their eventual academic qualifications.

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Both the previous Nationalist and the present Labour government are adamant to continue providing training grants for our younger nationals to spread their wings and take on the unforgettable experience of studying at a foreign University.

Of course, there is no harm in encouraging brain circulation. I myself encourage students through my lectures to pursue further their studies abroad. What I do emphasise is that they never forget what their home country provided them with.

I am sure that if we manage to attract a new level of high value added foreign direct investment we can attract back to Malta those youth who because of lack of decent opportunities refrain from coming home.

In my last article, I had emphasised that we should cultivate our good relations with Kuwait and China.

The Financial Times has reported that Kuwait plans to invest $5 billion in London’s financial centre.

Surely, we can manage to attract such deals to our healthy economy and better our current investment in the pharmaceutical industry. It’s this kind of initiatives I am determined to engage in if elected to the European Parliament.

Let’s cash in on the current opportunities and bring our co-nationals back to Malta so that families are re-united and our economy will continue to fare better.

Ivan Grixti lectures financial accounting at the University of Malta.