There seems to be no doubt in everyone's mind that we now have turned round the final bend and started coming down the finishing straight. What I am referring to is Malta's drive to become a member of the European Union.

And continuing with the analogy from athletics, those that have an interest in the sport know that as one is coming to the end of a long distance race, there are those athletes that give a final kick and manage to sprint to the finishing line and there are athletes that are incapable of producing a fast finish and simply run wearily to the end.

That we are running a long distance race is definitely the case. Politically this move towards Europe started at the time of the Nationalist government of the 1960s, as explained by Prof. Henry Frendo in his excellent book The Origins of Maltese Statehood.

There were times when we got a bit off track, but we always sought to maintain very good relations with Europe, if for no other reason to ensure market access for our exports. Moreover, four of the last five general elections were won by the party that had EU membership as one of its principal foreign, economic and social policies.

From the economic perspective, this country has been increasingly becoming integrated with Europe also since the 1960s. The direction of our exports, our main tourism markets and the principal sources of the foreign direct investment that flows into Malta are all proof of this.

Negotiations on membership with the EU have now been going on in earnest for the last four years, and a great deal of work has been done in preparation of membership by both the public sector and the private sector.

There are still some issues that need to be resolved but things have gotten as far as being told that Malta can join in the next wave of enlargement. Probably it was this assertion from the side of the EU that has signified that we got round the final bend and started running down the finishing straight.

However, the race that we are using as an analogy must be the steeplechase, a race where athletes have to go over a barrier in the last 100 metres, in addition to all the other hurdles throughout the race. That barrier is the referendum, the final decision we must take prior to joining the EU.

The question that needs to be asked is whether we are an athlete capable to produce a fast finish, with a progressive increase in pace, or are we an athlete whose pace slows down the closer he gets to the finishing line.

The data that is emerging about the economy for this year seems to indicate that our pace is increasing as we get closer to EU membership. The National Statistics Office had already stated that GDP growth in the second quarter of this year had accelerated to 2.2 per cent from 1.2 per cent in the first quarter.

The Central Bank of Malta is now forecasting that real growth in the gross domestic product is expected to be 2.9 per cent for the whole of this year.

The business perceptions survey carried out by the Central Bank of Malta during July and August of this year also showed an increased level of optimism, in spite of the uncertainty brought about by the international economic environment.

This increased level of optimism indicates that in general the private sector is looking at EU membership positively. If this were not the case, as we move closer to the date of membership business confidence would diminish and not improve.

The Central Bank survey shows that respondents did not expect any major change in the economic situation during the second half of this year, though the slowdown in tourism should moderate. This is quite understandable as the international economic situation has not shown any definite signs of improvement.

The slowdown in tourism has in fact also been kept in check as the October and November figures, once published, should indicate. The increased level of optimism is best gauged by the fact that a majority of respondents to the Central Bank survey claimed that this is seen as an appropriate time to undertake new investment projects.

Other published data shows that the rate of inflation is decreasing, thereby generating more economic stability. The attention that most countries have given to keeping inflation under control as part of their economic strategy has not been small because it is recognised that inflation is one of the factors that leads to uncertainty.

The Maltese economy is no exception to this rule and therefore we are joining the EU with a local context that gives further scope for optimism.

The good thing about this race (returning to the analogy I have used throughout this week's contribution) is that there is no single winner as any country that chooses to join the EU would have finished the race and would be one of the winners.

Any country that chooses to stay out of the EU would have to run another race, the rules of which still have to be defined. Malta has made good progress towards accession.

The economic pace is quickening and not slowing down. Would it be a wise decision to regress away from accession?