May 1 marked the first anniversary of Malta's membership of the European Union. One year on, we are still encountering new situations that result from this membership and probably several years will need to pass before we will have become fully accustomed to the implications of EU membership.
On the other hand, those that seek to get on with their life (which is the overwhelming majority of the population) will have noted very few differences to their particular situation as several of these novelties that we have experienced do not affect us directly.
It is very much like a person's birthday. In effect, a person is just one day older on his or her birthday but, for statistical purposes, one is a year older. EU membership did bring about big changes but, for the individual, it has meant not much change.
Probably the biggest change has been the psychological impact. Membership has brought about certainty while non-membership would only have brought about further uncertainty - and economies do not thrive in uncertainty. However, did EU membership really mean not much change for the individual? Has EU membership really not made an impact on the economy?
It is still too early to measure the effect of these (albeit imperceptible) changes through statistical data. On the other hand, anecdotal evidence and qualitative research do point to an element of change. One example is consumer choice. The shelves in supermarkets or grocery shops have not got any bigger unless the outlet would have expanded its operation. Nor do they hold more goods as we did not have product shortages. They do, however, contain more brands and a wider variety of products as distributors and manufacturers have sought to offer more choice to the consumer, in several instances at lower prices.
Observation studies do show that consumers spend time comparing brands, seeking to obtain the best value for money. This has meant that consumers do not just look for the lowest price but also look for product quality, as evidenced either by the ingredients of a product or its expiry date or even the place of its manufacture.
Local food manufacturers (be they large-scale manufacturers, be they micro enterprises) are seeking to expand their range of products in an effort to cover all possible market niches. One of the effects of this product development has been increased activity in sales and marketing.
We may not have needed EU membership to achieve this high level of consumer choice. Some might even argue that it was not needed in the first place as increasing consumer choice may have negative consequences, given that it increases expectations.
Others still may question what is so special about consumer choice. Consumer choice is one of the indicators of quality of life and an economy thrives when the quality of life of the population improves. An economy is judged to be performing well not only because its GDP increases but also because that increase in the GDP has had a positive effect on the quality of life of the population.
Another example of an imperceptible change is the labour market. Previously, young people seeking to establish what career path to follow would look exclusively at the local market and would all too often base their decision on job availability in Malta. Speaking to young people today one notes that they have started to factor in their decision the availability of jobs within the European Union. They are noting that a number of them have found employment in an EU member state and this has encouraged them to seek a career path that is not constrained by the Maltese labour market.
For prospective employers this may be a worrying feature in that the country may be experiencing a brain drain. Yet one could also argue that persons who spend time abroad working are acquiring international experience that will become increasingly important for an economy that is open as much as ours is.
We are well aware that one of the bottlenecks of our economy is the fact that we do not as yet have a sufficiently large enough cadre of employees that are capable of operating in an international environment. Membership of the European Union provides this opportunity that will be to the long-term benefit of the Maltese economy.
We somehow tend to forget that, all too often, big initiatives owe their origin to small ideas that have found an environment that nurtured their development. I believe, that with EU membership, we shall be following a similar path.
The little changes that we have been experiencing will present opportunities that will eventually be developed into important initiatives. The key factor shall always be our willingness and our capability to drive these important initiatives.