Foreign Minister Joe Borg will shortly be taking office within the European Commission. With effect from May 1, Dr Borg will become the first ever 'Maltese' European Commissioner.
The Labour Party will be boycotting the May 1 celebrations marking Malta's accession to the EU, but Malta will be celebrating its own first ever Commissioner on the EU Commission. Just like any other member state. A truly significant event. An event that should make us all proud to be Maltese.
Following amendments introduced by the Maastricht Treaty (TEU) and the Treaty of Amsterdam (ToA), as well as the agreement on a "Protocol on the institutions with the prospect of enlargement of the European Union", Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the UK have all renounced to one of their two Commissioners, so that as from May 1, all member states will have one commissioner each.
This means that our Dr Borg will have exactly the same rights as the German, French or Italian commissioner, be it the right to participate in the College of Commissioners or the right to vote and take decisions.
The procedure for the appointment of Dr Borg as commissioner has already been exhausted and the Commission President has also entrusted Dr Borg with a job with the Danish Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid.
This is temporary, as the new College of Commissioners will eventually be approved or otherwise by the European Parliament, so that each commissioner, including Dr Borg, will be politically accountable to the European Parliament.
It will be the new European Parliament to be elected in June this year that will appoint the new commissioners, so that even there, five Maltese elected European parliamentarians will have their say in confirming the new College of Commissioners or otherwise.
Each commissioner is assigned a portfolio, giving each one the responsibility for a specific policy area of the EU. The aim of the Commission is to ensure the proper functioning and development of the common market, and Dr Borg will be working within this context.
Dr Borg's appointment with the Danish Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid is for six months until the end of October. The idea is that the 10 new commissioners will gain some experience before the new College of Commissioners is set up by the end of this year.
Dr Borg will have to seek primarily the interests of the EU. The Treaty states that commissioners should act "in the general interest of the Community and be completely independent in the performance of their duties". In this sense, a commissioner may not take instructions from any government, including the Maltese Government, whereas member states are duty bound not to influence commissioners in the course of the performance of their tasks.
The responsibilities given to and assigned to Dr Borg mean that he has a lot of work to do. He shall also presumably have to travel a lot, particularly to third world, under-developed and poor countries.
Among the priorities of the EU's agenda for humanitarian aid, one finds Iraq, Iran, Morocco, Burundi and Tanzania. Dr Borg will be working to see how and in what ways the EU will provide help to these less fortunate states.
The EU's mission statement on its humanitarian aid programme is "the expression of European solidarity with the world's most vulnerable populations". The focus of humanitarian aid is on providing essential goods and services like clothing, food, medicines, vaccinations, clean water, shelter, psychological support, etc. The EU aims to prevent or relieve human suffering.
Within this context, one can really understand how noble Dr Borg's work should be. Some may think that the task entrusted to Dr Borg is of secondary importance when compared to other commissioners, such as those entrusted with the competition policy, agricultural policy, trade, etc.
But Dr Borg will assume a leading role in the formation of the new EU. An EU which is there to make Europe the most politically and economically powerful continent. Within this context, it is important to show the rest of the world that the EU embraces the concept of solidarity and puts into practice what it believes in.
Providing aid to less fortunate populations is one way of doing that, and Dr Borg will play an active role in this context. Doing a good job will mean that Dr Borg will not only contribute to the formulation of the new EU, but will also shape the relationship of the EU with other countries and continents.
Dr Borg will help in the shaping of the external relations of the new EU with other states from Europe as well as other continents. This is a very important task since Malta will benefit from all the work the EU will do. Dr Borg will in the coming months do an important job for the EU as much as for Malta.
Good luck Joe, and buon lavoro.