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6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 MARCH 2022 OPINION 2 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR Matthew Vella mvella@mediatoday.com.mt Letters to the Editor, MaltaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Letters must be concise, no pen names accepted, include full name and address maltatoday | SUNDAY • 3 JULY 2022 No 'Green Deal' without pain Editorial TO European audiences who follow developments in the EU's Council of Ministers and the European Parliament, the regional bloc's Green Deal may often feel like a positive and a beneficial phenomenon that priorities green energy. In Malta, we might experience it through initiatives that hasten the transition towards cleaner energy: in the form of solar or wind power, and electric cars. But it is impossible to divorce this process towards carbon neutrality, from the underlying geopolitics of oil and gas – which will have to fuel the transition – as well the war in Ukraine, which is now the greatest driver of geopolitical risk. Plans like REpowerEU want to accelerate the de- ployment of clean energy and green hydrogen; but the proposed timeframes are not helpful, in the context of an immediate energy crisis of the kind the world faces right now. In terms of its effect on food-supply alone, the war in Ukraine now dwarfs the concerns previously experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mal- ta sources most of its wheat, corn and barley from Ukraine – and Russia, to a lesser extent – and import- ers are already struggling to keep up with price hikes. In some instances, a one-litre bottle of edible oil has risen by as much as €1 over a matter of weeks; as exports from Ukraine, the world's largest producer of sunflower oil, ground to a halt. This has pushed prices of sunflower oil and alternatives up; and it is but one reflection out of many, of the food inflation that is currently biting hard into people's pockets. But there is also the energy crisis that Europe has to deal with. The green transition is not just about sub- stituting one form of energy for another, overnight. It also involves readjusting a global energy system, that includes generating that energy, storing and trans- porting it – a process that will be inherently disrup- tive. Europe was already paying high prices for its Rus- sian gas. With its climate ambitions to keep planetary warming low, and reach net zero by 2050, the bloc cannot forgo the use of oil, gas and even coal during any recession. This demand for hydrocarbons must be accompa- nied by a very necessary, intensive investment in clean energy – a very hard process, that gives Russia lever- age - but it is also necessary that OPEC states, who have the supply of oil readily on hand, patch up the mismatches that Europe will encounter in the pace of transition. Europe has answered the call strongly to disentangle itself from the Russian energy relationship, because of a moral imperative not to fund the war. But this does not mean that Europe is also in favour of wors- ening the energy crisis at a time of 'stagflation' – slow growth and high inflation. For in that scenario, Russia only retains its high leverage. Meanwhile, different viewpoints on the pain Europe can endure are already evident, by recent sanctions which separate pipeline oil imports from seaborne imports. Even European Union energy commissioner Kadri Simson has suggested that a possible goal of sanctions would ultimately be to force Russia to offer its energy at a discount, therefore reducing revenues for the aggressor, and minimising pain for Europe. Perhaps that is also why even the United States, whose president previously pledged to make Saudi Arabia a pariah for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, is now visiting the country: demonstrating, in the pro- cess, how the U.S.-Saudi relationship remains crucial within the overarching debate on the energy crisis. These 'realpolitik' concerns are not just matters for the political establishment to deal with. Perhaps, at its lowest level, it is for this reason that the Maltese – according to the latest Eurobarometer survey – are amongst the highest category (55%), fourth highest af- ter Cyprus, Portugal and Bulgaria, to say they felt the consequences of the war in Ukraine; and that it had reduced their standard of living, much higher than the 40% European average. Well over 71% of Maltese say they were not ready for increases in food and energy prices from the war on Ukraine, as opposed to the EU average of 40%. And the Maltese (63%) preferred maintaining price stability "even if it affects the defence of our common European values" (EU 39%); but were less likely to favour defending freedom and democracy (32%) if it impacted cost of living (EU 59%). In this, the Maltese were again the third highest in prioritising price stability, after Hungary and Bulgaria. But findings like these should not be met only by the hackneyed phrase that the Maltese are 'amoral', when it comes to international relations. Surely, the distant events in Ukraine are manifesting themselves in a more financially impactful manner: while keeping the horror of war itself distant enough from the Mal- tese. But it is perhaps this 'distant' view of the effect of the invasion that also chimes in with the realpolitik fears and concerns about the effects of sanctions, and how it impacts domestic politics. For ultimately, it is not just the Maltese – or the Hungarians, or Bulgarians - who have to prioritise 'price stability', in the delicate balancing-act of war. All of Europe is now finding that it has to do the same thing. 3 July 2012 Migrant's death: Soldiers are held TWO officers from the detention services and three soldiers from the Armed Forces have been arrested in connection with the death of a Malian man in their custody late on Friday night. A Malian man who sources named as 32-year-old Mohammed Abdalla, 32, report- edly died while being driven by the officers to the Paola health centre at around midnight on Saturday morning. Police sources told The Sunday Times a post-mortem confirmed that Abdalla had sus- tained multiple blows to the groin and lower back. They added he had not died of natural caus- es and his death may have been caused by several blows. The incident began on Friday afternoon, when Abdalla reportedly turned up at the Floriana health centre requesting medi- cal attention. It subsequently transpired that he had es- caped from the Safi detention centre in Au- gust 2009 and had never been apprehended. Staff at the health centre alerted the police, who took Abdalla to the Safi detention centre. According to a detention services statement, at this point Abdalla began to act aggressively towards guards as well as other detainees, prompting the officers to take him back to the Floriana health centre and book him a psychi- atric appointment for the following morning. But upon his return to Safi, Abdalla report- edly became aggressive once again, to the point where he had to be moved to an individ- ual guardroom. Abdalla then somehow escaped from the detention centre, although details of how he managed to elude officers' custody remain sketchy. Officers eventually caught up with him and apprehended him somewhere within Ħal Safi village. In a statement, the detention services said that Abdalla attacked officers, biting and in- juring one. The statement made no reference to Abdalla being assaulted or injured, though it pointed out he had been taken to Paola health centre. As they approached the health centre, of- ficers noticed that Abdalla was not breathing or showing any signs of life. ... Quote of the Week "It's ugly and distasteful to render the sensitive debate into an 'us and them' fight, putting women vs unborn"" Former Nationalist Party MP Therese Comodini Cachia on ex-EU Commissioner Tonio Borg's opinion piece saying that Malta should not introduce 'abortion on demand' MaltaToday 10 years ago