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maltatoday | SUNDAY • 15 MAY 2022 8 INTERVIEW Matthew Vella mvella@mediatoday.com.mt Europe has spoken. We have The final report of 'Confer- ence for the Future of Europe' includes over 300 proposals, which together represent a roadmap for how Europe- an citizens want the EU to be reformed. But what sort of changes, in practical terms, can we expect in the coming months and years? What do yourself expect, for the future of Europe? First of all, the Conference represents a process which the EU had not carried out in a very long time; and certainly, never on such a large scale. Having said this, there were a lot of challenges; because of the pandemic, for instance, most of the meetings had to be held online. But today [note: this in- terview was held on Monday 9 May] we see that over a thou- sand people have gathered here in Strasbourg - at the very heart of Europe, so to speak - to tell us that they want to effect all these changes. This is why, together with Commission President Ursu- la von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron, I said in my speech that the worst way we could possibly respond, having received all these recom- mendations – many of which came also from Malta and Gozo – would be to do nothing about them at all. So on behalf of the Europe- an Parliament, I said that we would establish a convention to start discussing all the necessary changes: in defence and secu- rity; in health; in energy; in the environment… What European citizens are telling us, in fact, is that these are all issues for which they have turned to the EU for solutions, over the last two years. They found us, in the past; but… will they find us again today? Clear- ly, our answer to them can only be 'Yes'… Crucially, however, the recom- mendations also include the proposed 'democratisation of Europe': among other things, by removing the 'unanimity' principle from the EU's deci- sion-making processed. This would necessitate having to 're-open discussions', as it were, on the Treaties them- selves: resulting in lengthy negotiations, between EU member states which do not all agree on the proposed re- forms to begin with. Are you concerned that a lot of political energy will be wasted, in try- ing to hammer out an eventual agreement? I think we need to distinguish between 're-negotiating the Treaties', in a way that 'chang- es everything'… and on the other hand, trying reaching an agreement which would provide solutions, without necessarily having to remove the unanimity principle. Here, I will talk as a Maltese citizen first; and as President of the European Parliament sec- ond. Malta has always main- tained the position that – when it comes to issues such as neu- trality; or family law, and so on - unanimity should be preserved. In the past, we even had to in- sist that Malta shouldn't lose its Commissioner: because in the first version [of this discussion] 20 years ago, there was the pos- sibility that we might, in fact, have ended up without a Mal- tese Commissioner. It was a battle we won, on that occasion; but these are the types of discussion that can always crop up – and which always take a long time – when everyone gathers around the same nego- tiating table. However, we must also ac- knowledge that there are cer- tain issues – including matters relating to immigration; justice; the rule of law, etc. – where no 'unanimity' is actually needed, to take a final decision. And yet, there was never the neces- sary political consensus, when it came to such issues as 'helping Malta to face the immigration challenge', for example... At the same time, we have also recently seen examples of how Europe did, in fact, see the need to get together, and agree on solutions to our common prob- lems. When it came to COV- ID-19, for example: the EU suc- cessfully reached agreements on the supply of vaccines; and also, on the medical co-operation that was required to overcome the pandemic. Even now, the European Par- liament has to debate a num- ber of laws concerning an issue which affects us all – Climate Change – and for which only a simple majority is needed. Here, the European Parliament will be pushing for an agreement, with all the strength it can possibly muster. But as EP President, I have to strike the right balance between those areas where it IS possi- ble to reach an agreement, and amend the Treaties in a way that is acceptable to everyone; and those areas where individu- al member states may be… let's say, 'obstructing' the discussion, for whatever reason. Even here: we must also distin- guish between those countries which are objecting on purely legal grounds… and those which are doing it for reasons of their own political situations, or real- ities. But the one thing we certain- ly can't do, at this stage is… nothing. Because the citizens of Europe have told us, in no un- certain terms, that they want something to be done. Isn't there the possibility, though, that the convention will only reach a 'disappointing' compromise? As we recent- The 'Conference for the Future of Europe' provided a clear roadmap of how Europeans want the EU to change. But as EP President, ROBERTA METSOLA has to 'strike the right balance' between 'what citizens want'… and what the EU's 27 member states are likely to agree on, in practice

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