As you read this, I am in Palermo for the annual study days of my political group, the EPP, which is the largest group in the European Parliament.
The gathering helps us define our policies, so if you have something to say about the line that your political group should take – and I certainly do – then you must be here.
This morning the event will be inaugurated with a debate on the subject that is on everybody’s mind – the situation in the Arab world.
There are four key speakers – the Prime Ministers of Hungary, Italy, Morocco and Malta’s Lawrence Gonzi. It gives me a great sense of pride to see our Prime Minister invited to this opening session.
Tomorrow morning we debate immigration in a session that will include the Italian Foreign Minister, Franco Frattini. I will be making the closing speech at that session.
The Mediterranean and migration are two subjects of primary importance at the moment and Malta’s contribution counts on both scores.
As it happens, this week marks the seventh anniversary of Malta’s EU membership and I cannot help reflecting on the way our country has seized the opportunity to make its voice heard.
So, are we punching above our weight?
I say yes, most definitely because we are well represented in the EU decision-making structures and we are making full use of our presence.
When the EU takes a decision it is not taken in a closed smoke-filled room devoid of any transparency. It is taken by properly defined structures that come up with proposals and others that decide.
The European Commission is the one that comes up with proposals. It is composed of one Commissioner from each member state and it makes proposals to pursue common European interests in different areas.
And although Commissioners are meant to represent the European interest, the fact that you have nationals from all countries around its table also means that no country is made to feel that its interests have been ignored, even as the Commission’s proposals are being cooked.
Malta’s man in the Commission, John Dalli, is not known for shying away from making his views known, more so when Malta’s interests are at stake.
The Commission’s proposals are proposals, not decisions. The decisions are taken by two separate entities, the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament which, post-Lisbon Treaty, have roughly the same weight.
How is Malta’s voice heard in each of these? As with the Commission, the Council of Ministers is composed of one minister from each of the 27 member countries. This is hugely disproportionate in favour of the smaller members like us. And although votes are weighted according to the size of the country, votes are often not necessary because a consensus is usually found before a vote is required.
That too works in our favour because a lot depends on the level of participation of our ministers and their power of persuasion.
In this respect, the man in the news has to be Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici whose power of persuasion comes from the force of reason rather than some ill-advised force of threat. I see him operate at close range and I can vouch for him.
But other ministers have also risen to the occasion in other Council meetings when their presence most needed to be felt.
In the main, decisions taken by Council are only adopted if they are also agreed by the European Parliament. That is where I have had the privilege to sit, on your behalf, since 2004.
As such, the European Parliament is the institution where Malta is least represented in terms of numbers. But it is best represented in terms of proportion. Roughly speaking, my seat represents an average of 40,000 votes but the seat of the German MEP sitting in front of me represents an average of 800,000 votes.
Still, with just five seats (soon six) out of 736, the quest of securing majority support in Parliament was always going to be a daunting task. This was the first thing that hit me when I was first elected.
So the fact that, more often than not, Malta secures the support of the European Parliament even on the most difficult of issues (immigration is just one case in point) must say something about the way that Maltese MEPs have worked and networked to build up the necessary support in the two largest political groups, the EPP and the Socialist Group, that together make up a majority of two-thirds in Parliament.
We do not dictate the entire EU agenda and we do not take all decisions for Europe – it would be ridiculous to think that we could or should do that.
But here is the smallest member state of the European Union with a population of less than 1,000th of the entire population of the Union. And when it has something to say, it makes its position known. And it is heard.
This is a far cry from some nonsense we used to hear – and sometimes still do – about Malta’s voice in the Union.
We are truly punching well above our weight.
And it is important for you to know that.
Dr Busuttil is a Nationalist member of the European Parliament.