Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1118959
18 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 19 MAY 2019 INTERVIEW At a glance, your campaign seems different from that of the two main parties (including your own, the PN). You are focusing more on European Parliamentary issues… while local issues seem to have taken centre stage everywhere else. Would you agree with that assessment? I don't see it in terms of 'Euro- pean' and 'local issues'. It's more that we need to see how local issues can be solved through European tools. Because vir- tually all local issues can be made better, or worse, by us- ing Europe in the correct, or incorrect, way: either through EU funding, or by modifying European legislation, or creat- ing local opportunities via our European platform. I would like to see more discussion on how we can make better use of our status as EU members. None- theless, I do think the issues touched upon in this campaign are, in fact, European issues, or issues which have a European dimension… with a few excep- tions, such as this late emphasis on Egrant – which is something we battled in the past, and that I think we shouldn't battle again. We shouldn't do a 'replay' of the last election; we should focus on how to get results from Europe for the Maltese. In practical terms, however: do six Maltese MEPs really have the power to make any tangible difference, in a parliament of 750? Yes, they do. Because when we elect MEPs to the Europe- an Parliament, we elect them with a mandate to change the European Union. MEPs have the power to change EU legis- lation: by lobbying in commit- tees, then voting in committees, then voting at the plenary… I've seen first-hand what an ex- traordinary power this is, and what benefits it can bring if that power is wielded by competent hands. Because we have to bear in mind that: OK, here we're stuck in our little 'Colosseum'… but there, you need to convince the Germans. You need to con- vince the French, the Poles… and it's easier said than done. Could you give examples of areas where you think Malta can get better results from the EU? Or where you see yourself making a difference? Some of our legislation is just copy-and-paste [of European laws] without taking into con- sideration what certain specific sectors need. Bee-keepers, for instance; or farmers, or fisher- men. These, however, are rela- tively easy things to address. It's a case of simply notifying the Commission on how we intend implementing that legislation; and I'm confident that solutions to most problems can easily be found. But we need MEPs also to sensitise European institu- tions on the implementation of EU law. If you're sitting on a committee with Italian, French, Spanish MEPs… you could just have a chat with them: 'These are the sort of problems we are facing. what can we do about them?' So much can be achieved just by being there, and us- ing the institution informally. But legislatively, you need to be there to modify legislation. For example, European fund- ing is enacted by one big chunk of legislation called the 'MFF' [Multiannual Financial Frame- work], which sets the targets, the objectives, and the sums/ amounts; but then, every sec- tor depends on a specific piece of legislation to push funding. Modifying the MFF is a hard job. That's something that gov- ernments are mainly in charge of. But changing the specific agricultural regulations, when it comes to applying EU fund- ing, is a different story. To give a specific instance: [in EU law], 'organic farming' is so rigidly defined, that virtually no one can grow organic food in Malta. We are so small that, if the field adjacent to yours uses pesti- cides once… that's it, your farm is no longer 'organic'. So, we can focus on modifying certain defi- nitions, or including, let's say, provisos or 'exceptions' which are suitable to small island states, or small economies… Your campaign has placed considerable emphasis on agriculture. Last week I interviewed Alfred Sant, and one of the points he made was that Malta's agriculture was 'doomed' by EU accession. Doesn't he have a point? EU membership has not worked out well for Malta's farmers, has it? I disagree. Look at Malta's dairy farms; from there, you can see whether Sant is correct or not. The cow farmers organised themselves – also with govern- ment participation, because government is a shareholder in KPD – and attracted 40 million euro in EU funding. Their farms today are technological: I have seen robotic milking machines in action. And they are produc- ing the same amount of milk of 15 years ago, with half the number of cows. So, productiv- ity went up; their holdings grew; and they are better off today. That's just dairy farmers, though. What about pig- breeders, or farmers who grow cauliflower, cabbages, etc…? In those areas, we need to look at what could have been done, but wasn't. What works for one sector might work for others. We need to look into models and strategies that have suc- ceeded, and apply them there. In other areas, we succeeded in protecting the market… But 'market protection' is precisely what went out of the window when we joined the EU. That was part of the deal, wasn't it? Joining the EU doesn't mean neglecting your local product. The 'gbejna' is a good example. The application for 'D.O.C.' recognition for the Maltese gbejna has been pending for three years. You cannot be in a competitive market, and then not take the measures to legiti- mately promote your product. So, there are things which can be done, within the EU legis- lative framework; and the EU gives us the tools to promote our products abroad. Some- thing which has never been used by this government. When you speak to people at the Commission, they tell you that Malta is the only member state to have never used the regula- tion of 2013, on the promotion of agricultural products abroad. So, it's simplistic to say that 'it's because of the EU.' We cannot look at our challenges like this. We have to see how to make the EU work for those sectors. This is why, at the beginning of my own campaign, I drew up an analysis of our EU membership. Where is it working, and where is it not working? Because we have to admit that, 15 years down the line… some sectors of society are worse off within the EU. We have to start from there. Farmers are the classic example; then fishermen; 'rah- hala'; hunters and trappers… but also small businesses. There are sectors of the econ- omy that are suffering the sin- gle market, not enjoying it. So today, we have to realise that… we took a huge step forward by joining the EU. It was fantas- tic for Malta, overall. But then there are pockets which are suffering. And it's not fair, for the rest of us to be clapping and having a party… while these guys are going bankrupt. That's one thing. The second thing is implementation. The benefits of EU membership will not reach us, unless government is making sure that the rights are trickling down to the citizens. Recently, we transposed the GDPR [General Data Protec- Nationalist MEP candidate PETER AGIUS admits that Malta's membership in the EU – while beneficial, overall – has been detrimental to certain sectors: mostly because Malta has failed to make full use of the European potential We have to make Europe Raphael Vassallo Raphael Vassallo rvassallo@mediatoday.com.mt