Appointing a Committee on Foreign Investment, like they have in the US, is probably unthinkable for Malta.

Not necessarily, though.  It certainly would have come handy when the government decided to sell off our one and only airport in order simply to reduce its budget deficit for that year, especially as our sovereign debt then had already exceeded the maximum which the EU later imposed on us.

In the US, such a committee evaluates inward investment transactions linked to national security concerns. In Malta’s case, the sale of its airport did not impinge directly on national security but ran parallel to it.

Our airport is such a strategic asset that it should never have been on the privatisation radar, let alone sold to foreigners as an item in our ‘family silver’.

Retaining a 30 per cent equity does not seem to have helped at all to avert recent shenanigans related to its CEO.

The government is therefore advised to lead the charge with talks in Brussels on its possible renationalisation.

Given our unique circumstances, the European Commission should at least listen to us attentively, even if it doesn’t normally encourage members to nationalise industries.