Social Dialogue Minister Helena Dalli yesterday urged the newly-elected MEPs to build an affiliation with the Malta-EU Steering Action Committee core group.

The group comprises representatives from trade unions, constituted bodies and other stakeholders in the Maltese workforce.

Association and union representatives addressed their concerns to Miriam Dalli, Alfred Sant and Therese Comodini Cachia, who were the only MEPs present during a MEUSAC core group meeting. Roberta Metsola, Marlene Mizzi and David Casa were unavailable.

Dr Dalli, Dr Sant and Dr Comodini Cachia have pledged to keep an open channel of communication with the representatives. Dr Sant said he was interested in learning the stakeholders’ reactions and analysis of recent developments on the sectors they represent.

Pledge to keep an open channel of communication

He emphasised the importance of predicting how proposals would effect Malta because it was not always a case of “one size fits all”.

He expressed concern about the agricultural sector, adding that what applied to countries with larger expanses of land did not automatically apply to Malta’s smaller fields.

Dr Comodini Cachia added that the MEPs needed to influence EU legislation before it was enacted. She urged the stakeholders to identify their aspirations for the sectors they represented.

Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin general secretary Josef Vella said the EU was not as “sexy” as it was in the past. He felt that extremism was prevailing, while maintaining a sense of balance no longer seemed to retain its appeal.

He feared that the alternative to having no EU was a return to conflict and appealed to the MEPs to transmit this growing sense of euroscepticism.

Lawrence Mizzi of the Malta Employers’ Association said while collaboration was important, Malta should avoid the hegemony of the Party of European Socialists and the European People’s Party.