Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1240944
OPINION "THIS virus knows no borders but it does know heroes" – was how I started my contribution to a debate we had with Eu- ropean Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council Presi- dent Charles Michel. Our doctors, nurses, paramedics, law enforcement, pharmacists, scientists, cleaners, delivery drivers, shelf stackers – are the global face of resilience in the toughest of circumstances. The concept of the European Union is based on the certainty of solidarity be- tween member states. Never before in the history of our Union has such solidari- ty been needed. And never before has it been tested in such a manner. It is essential that Europe responds and does whatever it takes. It has come in for some criticism, some of it justified and some of it fuelled by politicians who find an easy scapegoat in popular Brus- sels-bashing. This pandemic should not expose Eu- rope's weaknesses but should show off our strengths. It is true that member states and EU in- stitutions were slower than they should have been – particularly with the sit- uation in Italy – but the face of Europe did show in the patients from Bergamo being hospitalised in Bavaria; Romanian doctors heading to Italy; equipment from Lithuania being sent to Spain; masks from France and Austria being flown to Italy; Maltese and Italian designers and couture creators sewing surgical masks for the most vulnerable. These are the concrete examples of soli- darity that people want to see. Having EU joint procurement proce- dures meant that Malta and Gozo could still get needed equipment like ventilators without having to compete on tenders with economies far larger than our own. Now the challenge is to extend that to the joint procurement of a vaccine when this becomes available – this must now be a point on which the Prime Minister should insist upon with his peers. Tangible European action crucially also extended to financial support to Member States. The arguments over whether such support should emanate from Eurobonds, coronabonds, credit facilities or the EU's Multiannual Financial Framework, al- most overshadowed the more than half-a trillion in recovery funds that were allo- cated. We've agreed on rescue packages, low interest loans, and grants, worth €540 bil- lion – made available to member states to deal with the immediate impact on people's businesses and jobs. It meant citizens, including so many in Malta and Gozo, are able to benefit from some form of State aid. The EU also relaxed its rules to ensure that funds could be pumped into critical industries and people's live- lihoods are protected as much as possible. Now the challenge is to make sure the funds are able to be used by people and businesses who need them the most, without unnecessary bureaucracy or red tape. In the words Germany's President Stein- meier, this is not war – this is a test of our humanity. And of our spirit – there are still far too many people who slip through the cracks and who find nowhere to turn to. We must address them too, be flexible and continue to adapt. Tied to our response to COVID-19 is how we deal with the looming humanitar- ian crisis in the Mediterranean. Member states and the EU must do better. We are seeing increased numbers of boats fleeing Libya only to remain stuck out at sea – a coherent European ap- proach is urgent. Meaningful solidarity is crucial. Lives must be saved, and we cannot leave frontline member states like Italy, Greece and Malta alone. But government needs to walk the talk too. We could have saved lives – there were options that allowed people to be saved, fed, cared for and quarantined and that is what we needed to do. In the European Parliament I am proud that our delegation's position has always been consistent – save lives and have an all-encompassing migration policy – fair with those in need of protection, firm with those who do not and strong with those abusing of the vulnerable. Labour's policy remains anyone's guess. On a section of the most important reso- lution passed by the Parliament this year, four of Labour's MEPs voted in three different ways. There was no element of schadenfreude in watching them point fingers at each other and try to rip each other to shreds after the vote – on an is- sue as crucial as this, we needed all MEPs together. Labour MEP's internal drama, coupled with Robert Abela's crippling insecurity, damages our negotiating posi- tion when we need it to be at its strongest. We cannot retreat to the comfort com- bination of populism, Eurosceptism and pseudo-nationalism so favoured by La- bour. That will not solve anything – we are all in this together and the only way out of this is together. THERE are many policy areas driv- en by Labour which can be subject- ed to long hours of debate. Frankly, government's energy policy hardly fits among these: stating that it has been an abject failure would proba- bly be a compliment to those behind such "strategies". The irony of this all was that back in the electoral campaign of 2013, Malta's population was tricked into believing that Labour had a roadm- ap which, in the preferred words of disgraced former minister Konrad Mizzi, had already been planned and costed. And really planned and costed it was: a few individuals stood to make millions at the ex- pense of the rest of the population. For indeed, here we are, at un- precedented times, having to beg to foreign countries of dubious inten- tion, for lower utility rates. This at a time,when the world is experiencing the lowest cost of energy since time immemorial. Oil prices in Europe are hovering around $20-25 dollars a barrel, while in the United States they have gone as far as dropping to negative territory. Most of us will surely remember when in January 2011, Labour or- ganised waves of protests over "ex- aggerated" utility bills – bills which were worked out on a price of oil which exceeded $140 dollars, that's around six or seven times its price today. Gas prices tend to follow oil, and since the (in)famous Electrogas deal was signed, its price has also gone down by a staggering 36%. Where does this leave us? We are currently in the second month of a semi-lockdown, forced for the benefit of our health to spend most of our days at home, work- ing from home, coordinating our children's studies from home, do- ing everything between those four walls. That automatically means a higher consumption of energy. A recent study in the UK estimat- ed that this has resulted in at least a 15% increase in consumption. That's on top the troubles faced by many families who have lost their job, are experiencing reduced in- come, including loss of part-time or any additional work they might have been doing. Yet, because Labour insisted with forging ahead in a shady deal in selling critical national infrastruc- ture, such as our energy operator Enemalta, to the Chinese, and ty- ing itself to an incredible 18-year commitment with Electrogas (and to add insult to injury, included as an intermediary Azerbaijan's Socar which siphons off an additional €40 million in commissions for the pur- chase of gas), the country is losing an eye-popping €91 million a year. A figure almost hard to fathom. That's the equivalent of some €450 euro for every family in Malta. And when we speak about the "price of corruption" this is precisely that. Certainly enough, we're also still paying for a financial structure which caters for the €5,000-a-day Konrad Mizzi and his forever-friend Keith Schembri were caught red-handed planning by The Daph- ne Project. While our hands are tied to Chi- na, as the finance minister so clearly put it, there is still room for ma- noeuvre. Government has been promising for years to correct the unfair billing system which are also the subject of pending cases in our courts. Notwithstanding, the argu- ment that our hands are tied, does not hold water. This problem is not the fault of families and businesses. It is government's problem to solve with its friends in Azerbaijan, China and Electrogas. Until that happens – there are other solutions. Just this week, Edward Scicluna was again ruffling his feathers about surpluses and responsibility in finances. If our financial position is strong as our minister makes it out to be, then there should be no excuses: it is time to follow the proposal made by the Opposition – and backed by a number of social partners, including the Malta Employers' Association – to forthwith reduce energy bills by 50% for all households, backdated to 9 March when this crisis blew up. Our families have been paying high prices for years, because let's face it, oil prices have not started to go down this year. And since August 2017, the day the Electrogas turbine was switched on, the price of gas has gone done by 36%. If government truly has the well-being of our families at heart, the time of need and the time to act is definitely now. Roberta Metsola Ryan Callus The only way out of this is together Act on utility bills. Now Roberta Metsola is a Nationalist MEP (EPP) Ryan Callus is a Nationalist MP and spokesperson for energy, water and conservation 12 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 26 APRIL 2020