Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1467738
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 15 MAY 2022 9 INTERVIEW have no choice but to listen ly saw in the French election, there are populist, Euroscep- tic movements in virtually all European countries – includ- ing the so-called 'bad boys' of Europe: Poland, Hungary, etc. – which are fundamentally op- posed to the concept of 'More Europe'. What can the Europe- an Parliament actually do, to counter the political forces that will no doubt try to stifle this process? First of all, there will always be different realities, in different member states. The result of the French election, for instance, can perhaps be described as a case where 'Justice Prevailed' [Is-Sewwa Rebah]. But it doesn't mean that there aren't serious challenges that still need to be addressed: in France, and else- where. Clearly, there are untold mil- lions of European citizens who still feel far removed from all the decisions being taken [at EU lev- el]. And what these people are telling us is that… if they want to vote [for right-wing parties], it's because they are deeply, deeply frustrated at all of Europe's ex- isting political 'establishments'. We're seeing this in all coun- tries, across the EU; and it's something we need to try and understand. We need to convince young people to par- ticipate in politics, for instance; it's not just a case of telling them: 'Look, we've given you the right to vote… now, go out and vote!' You also have to give them a reason to go out and vote; you have to give them something to actually vote for. And young people have now told us what they want: they want us to do more for the en- vironment; to do more to assist Ukraine; they want more com- munication, and exchange, be- tween EU member states… So this reality [i.e., the frustra- tion at political establishments] is not something we can afford to ignore. It's something we have to fight against, and defeat. And while the battle may have been won in France – despite all those major challenges – there are other countries where, for example, the Opposition parties are completely manipulated by Russia; to the extent that they even threaten to destabilize Eu- ropean democracy, as a whole. This is something we need to fight against, every day: but through persuasion, and con- viction. For this reason, I was elated to hear what Emmanuel Macron said today. He said: "I am convinced that, yes, we can change the Treaties; yes, we can make all the necessary amend- ments…" From my end, I will also be pushing for that same policy with the Council of Ministers. Because it is through that same sense of 'conviction', that I hope we can overcome all the obsta- cles to an agreement. And this is, in fact, the role of the European Parliament itself. Though its MEPs, the EP has al- ways been at the forefront when it came to pushing forward the strongest political messages… especially in the context of Rus- sia's invasion of Ukraine. You could say, then, that the European Parliament has always been willing to go that extra step… because it's our role to do so. And you can rest assured that this is the role we will also be fulfilling, in the months to come. Another of the 300 proposals was for a Citizen's Assembly: as a form of bridge between the EU's internal decision-mak- ing processes, and the need for a popular voice that communi- cates the social and economic realities on the ground. Do you agree that such an assembly should become a permanent part of the EU's structures? Certainly, I agree there is more need for public consultation, at present. This is something that the Commission president also expressed, recently: when she suggested that initiatives [such as the Conference on the Future of Europe] should become more 'regular' in future. For example: when a new law comes up for debate in the Eu- ropean Parliament… ideally, the first thing we should do is take stock of how the people out there actually feel about it. As things stand, we have far too many laws that have been 'the freezer' (so to speak) for far too long… because there isn't the political will to implement them… and after a while, you begin to ask yourself: 'But did we really need to waste 10 whole years, discussing this? Shouldn't we have realised that it wasn't the right solution, in the first place?' So yes: in that sense, I do be- lieve that more consultation needs to take place. But let's not forget that the European Parlia- ment is also an institution that is directly elected by the people of Europe; and when you look at Malta's electoral law, and the specific reasons why people like myself get elected to begin with… you will find that we were chosen to represent the people, on the basis of a wide variety of issues – from immi- gration; to the environment; to corruption; to the rule of law… and these are all issues that are regularly discussed by the Euro- pean Parliament. So there are different types of what we define as 'participatory democracy'; and yes, that should of course also include more in- depth consultation with the public, at all levels. In your speech this week, you also raised the prospect of a 'Security and Defence Union'. How much appetite is there, in the EP, to forge ahead with a vision that may also include a unified European Army? And what would you say to people in Malta, who may feel that this direction conflicts with Malta's status as a neutral, non-aligned country? First of all, I don't think that there is anything particularly 'new' about this discussion. The concept of a European Army is, in fact, something that regularly gets discussed, at EU level, every few years or so. But as I also said in that speech: there is no need for a European army to 'compete' with any es- tablished military alliances. Ul- timately, it is up to each individ- ual EU member state to take its own decisions, in that respect; and in no conversation that I've ever had on the subject, did any- one ever question the neutrality status of any country… includ- ing Malta's. So if there is any decision to be taken at all, on that issue: it will have to be taken in the context of Malta's Parliament. However: when we talk about war, we also have to talk about the human- itarian role to be played by all countries, Malta included. Looking at our own recent his- tory, for instance: the role that Malta played in the 2011 Liby- an civil war – even as a neutral, non-aligned country – was one that promoted peace; one that facilitated the evacuation of ci- vilians; and one that facilitated the possibility of offering hu- manitarian assistance, in what- ever way we could. But at the end of the day, this is a debate that needs to take place in all countries; and Malta is certainly not an exception.