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15 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 11 MAY 2022 NEWS EUROPE These articles are part of a content series called Ewropej. This is a multi-newsroom initiative part-funded by the European Parliament to bring the work of the EP closer to the citizens of Malta and keep them informed about matters that affect their daily lives. These articles reflect only the authors' view. The European Parliament is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains. NO day since Roberta Metsola's election as president of the Eu- ropean Parliament earlier this year seems to have been any- thing but a 'big day'. On Europe Day, she is welcom- ing French president Emmanuel Macron to the official closure of the ambitious Conference on the Future of Europe, a citizens' assembly whose 300 proposals for the EU's further democrati- sation will be no mean feat. Now she is squeezing in press conferences and journalists in- terviews' every 10 minutes, right before meeting a well-attended event for youths to discuss en- gagement in politics through film comedy, bang in the mid- dle of her regular visits to Eu- ropean cities. She has become one of the European bloc's most recognisable faces on the dip- lomatic response to the Rus- sian invasion of Ukraine, and even her presidency is marking somewhat of a historical cross- roads for Europe's future direc- tion. That's because various pro- posals from the citizen-led Conference on the Future of Europe will require opening the books for treaty change, with past experience on Lisbon and Nice a bitter lesson from the past for policy-makers. Some member states are riled up by the prospect of losing unanim- ity on certain decisions deemed to be sovereign matters. For a microstate like Malta, losing the power of veto can radically alter the dynamics of power inside the EU, one that naturally shifts in favour of its major economic players. "There's a difference between changing the Treaty entirely, or arriving at certain solutions without having to lose unanim- ity," Metsola says on opening this Pandora's box of European negotiations. "For Malta, unanimity on neu- trality or family matters for ex- ample, must be retained. In the past we had to fight not to lose the right to appoint a Commis- sioner on such treaty chang- es first mooted 20 years ago… these are discussions that take their time. "But there are subjects, such as immigration, environment, or rule of law, where you do not require unanimity. As President of the European Parliament, I have to seek that balance be- tween what we can achieve now, and what truly requires Treaty change." The prospect is that, despite the brave words of the Confer- ence's co-president, the exu- berant Belgian MEP Guy Ver- hofstatdt who described the proposals as "a matter of surviv- al" for Europe, this bid to change its internal machinery might also result in a disappointing compromise. In France, Marine Le Pen's showing in the elec- tions is a stark reminder of the far-right's destabilising threat to the EU project, while 'bad boys' Poland and Hungary show how the force of change in the union also depends on which party is elected to power, and who the prime ministers inside the Council are, ultimately. "You will always have differ- ent realities in each member state… but you will always have millions of Europeans who are voting out of frustration at the political establishment. We must understand this feeling, and convince youths to go out and vote – that's why they told us to do more on climate, or the war in Ukraine. As in France, we must win over this feeling, but also convince people." The success of the Confer- ence in itself does bode well for the EU's democratisation, even though Metsola seems less convinced of having such a cit- izen's assembly as a permanent form of institution. "There could be a way of seek- ing out citizens' views on a pro- posed law, rather than wait for years to understand that a law does not work… but let's not forget that it is the Europe- an Parliament that is directly elected to represent the people who chose us on all the subjects treated by the EP. Citizens' con- sultation can be a part of this process." With the Russian invasion ev- er present on her agenda, Met- sola says Malta must not stray away from its humanitarian obligations towards Ukraine. "Neutrality here is not in ques- tion," she said of her calls for a deeper Security and Defence Union. "The EU army is not a new matter for the European Par- liament, and every year or so the issue is brought up again… there is no need for Europe to compete with other alliances," she said, in a reference to Nato. "Every member state should take its own decision… but in a matter of war, we must also speak of our own humanitarian obligations towards Ukraine." 'Youths told us Europe must do more on climate and Ukraine. We must respond' You will always have different realities in each member state… but you will always have millions of Europeans who are voting out of frustration at the political establishment Roberta Metsola in one of the Europe Day activities on 9 May where she met youths for a discussion on film comedy