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MALTATODAY 8 May 2022

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maltatoday | SUNDAY • 8 MAY 2022 NEWS 16 NICOLE MEILAK MALTESE MEPs showed mixed feelings in last Tuesday's vote on introducing transnational lists for the next European elections in 2024. The European Parliament voted in favour of changing Eu- ropean election rules to allow people to vote for pan-Europe- an MEPs contesting on a single list presented by their respec- tive European political parties. Under the new rules, Maltese voters would be handed two ballots, one to vote for their six Maltese MEPs of choice, and a second ballot with 28 candi- dates from across the bloc. But support for the new rules is not too clear cut. 323 MEPs voted for the changes, but a substantial number of EPP and European Conservative mem- bers voted against (257). The votes of Maltese MEPs some- what reflected this divide. Labour MEPs Alex Agius Sal- iba and Cyrus Engerer were the only Maltese members to vote in favour of the final report, with their socialist colleague Josianne Cutajar abstaining, while Labour MEP Alfred Sant and Nationalist MEP David Ca- sa voted against the resolution altogether. "I think it's a step in the right direction for small states like us," Agius Saliba told Malta- Today, who explained that his vote is in line with the Maltese government's own national po- sition on the issue at European Council level. He argues that the system will be beneficial for Malta. "There's a higher chance for us to elect a seventh Maltese MEP with other small states," he said, pointing out that member states will be split in- to groups according to popu- lation, to ensure proportion- ality. "Each group will elect four MEPs, and Malta will be grouped with the EU's smaller states." Engerer similarly said that the reformed electoral law would help bring Europe closer to cit- izens, even helping to reduce the overall democratic deficit. "It is time for citizens to choose themselves what po- litical direction they want the European Union to take. Apart from the ballot to elect the six Maltese MEPs, having anoth- er ballot to choose which Eu- ropean political party should lead and preside the Europe- an Commission, will give the Commission itself more legiti- macy," he said. He added that this will give Malta a unique opportunity to have more than six Maltese MEPs in Brussels and Stras- bourg. "We managed to secure a 'district' made up of only small member states. Knowing the hard work of Maltese MEPs and our ambitions, we will have the opportunity to pos- sibly also increase the number of Members originating from Malta and Gozo." Josianne Cutajar was more sceptical of the overall propos- al, noting that some issues were more highly debated than oth- ers. For example, one amend- ment to the report called for a common election day through- out Europe on Europe Day, something which Cutajar vot- ed against. "I believe that the report is going overboard in certain parts of the text. One such example is the call for the first official projections to be announced simultaneously in all member states on election day at 9pm. Speaking of Malta, apart from the fact that we vote till 10pm, until ballot boxes reach the counting hall and the counting procedure starts, this is not practical." But on the transnational lists amendment, Cutajar voted in favour. She said the proposal was endorsed during the Con- ference on the Future of Eu- rope, and the version proposed in the report was an improve- ment for smaller states com- pared to the previous one. Meanwhile, Alfred Sant voted against the proposal to create transnational lists. "It is an artificial construct that will remain unintelligible to the ordinary voter. The de- tails proposed supposedly to reassure smaller member states are grotesque and reflect the Brussels bubble syndrome," he said in his vote explanation. He also disagreed with the 'spitzenkandidaten' system, whereby citizens would be given the right to vote for the President of the Commission through the EU-wide lists. "The European Parliament should just retain consultative and approval functions over the President of the Commis- sion as appointed by the Euro- pean Council." Two-tier membership? Peter Agius, an MEP candi- date for the Nationalist Party, warned that the transnation- al list system could create a two-tier membership within the European Parliament. As it stands, the resolution is un- clear on who these MEPs will represent, and what their sta- tus will be in the parliament. "This will create a two-tier membership. Who will these MEPs represent?" he ques- tioned. "Will a German MEP be expected to represent the interests of the Maltese?" Agius pointed out that the Lisbon Treaty clearly states that the number of MEPs can- not exceed 751, including the President of the European Parliament. "Where will these 28 seats come from? Will an elected MEP have to resign and make way? Will they change the treaty?" he asked. "The resolution is opaque. It will be interesting to see how it could be applied." Maltese MEPs have mixed feelings about transnational MEP lists

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