I was not yet born when Malta attained Independence under the stewardship of Ġorġ Borg Olivier in 1964 but researching and interviewing a number of protagonists of that major game-changer in our history, made me realise why so many people were all that appreciative of that fateful decision.

It is now universally acknowledged that Independence brought in its wake a fundamental mind-shift not only in the political sphere but also in social life, and paved the way for a prosperous small country, proud to move forward on its own steam.

Independence also gave fresh impetus to Malta’s entrepreneurs and the first steps towards sustainable tourism and much-needed industrialisation. This was an uplifting exercise and also indispensable given that the British were intent on minimising their military presence here.

If we examine the end result of all these endeavours we can conclude that the Maltese – under various administrations, and even considering the highs and lows of what happened – made Independence a truly successful story.

At the same time we cannot judge the last 54 years of independence without looking at another decisive episode: Malta’s membership in the EU.

There is a direct link between Malta’s Independence and the island’s official entry into the European family.

In Henry Frendo’s The Origin of Maltese Statehood, we read about George Borg Olivier’s insistence, during negotiations that led to the signing of the Financial and Defence Agreement with Britain, that Malta should have no barriers imposed on it if it wanted to negotiate freely with the European Economic Community for associate membership and eventually full membership.

Borg Olivier’s acclaimed attributes of persistence and insistence boded well and it was just and fair that, during his premiership in 1970, Malta signed its first association agreement with the European Community, which eventually bloomed into full membership 34 years later under Eddie Fenech Adami.

It is heartening that nowadays the great majority – if not the totality – of the Maltese electorate do agree that Independence was beneficial to our nation. Most of us actually do realise that it was indispensable and the logical step forward.

Without that constitutional development we would not have achieved what we did in a relatively short period of time.

I made an interesting exercise through which I found that since 1960, there were 42 countries that became independent from Britain. Out of these, there are 35 that celebrate their national day on Independence Day. Seven other countries, including Malta, have different dates mostly because they have other important dates to highlight.

I believe that, as argued by Desmond Zammit Marmarà in another Talking Point contribution, such a decision will send a positive message of national unity and be another tangible proof that the post-Independence generation has move forward with times and knows how to draw a line on petty partisan attitudes.

Dione Borg is a Nationalist candidate for the European elections.