Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1488480
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 18 DECEMBER 2022 9 INTERVIEW again ting – and also as a candidate in MEP elections – I feel that abortion should not be among the issues that the European Parliament (including myself, if I am elected) should be decid- ing upon. It should be a matter for individual member states to legislate, through their national parliaments… But isn't that, effectively, what the government of Malta is try- ing to do right now? Yes. But the problem, as I see it, is that Prime Minister Rob- ert Abela doesn't have a man- date to introduce the legislative changes he's proposing. He has every right, of course, to raise the issue of abortion for discus- sion – just as the EP does, like I said before. But he doesn't have a mandate to actually legislate; and I believe that, to acquire a mandate on an issue such as this… there has to be consulta- tion with the electorate. Lawrence Gonzi didn't have an electoral mandate to entrench the abortion ban into the Con- stitution, either. But he still tried to do that, in 2005… Well, to be honest these prin- ciples we're talking about – i.e., whether a government needs a mandate, or not – are not 'cast in stone'. I'm not saying that there's a law which requires the Prime Minister to have a man- date, for each and every single legal amendment… But when you have a Prime Minister, who became party leader on the back of an ex- plicit commitment – given in a recorded interview with Fr Joe Borg, on Newsbook – that 'under his leadership, abortion will never be introduced'… it's not just a case that 'he doesn't have a mandate [to introduce abortion]'; it's that he actually HAS a mandate, to do the very opposite of what he is doing. His mandate was to 'ensure that abortion is NOT introduced, under any circumstance'. And this is why a lot of people – not just Nationalists; but also many Labour supporters – are increasingly of the sentiment that Robert Abela is abusing of the trust placed in him by the electorate. This week, for in- stance, I visited the market in Birkirkara; and I'm the kind of person that speaks to absolute- ly everyone, in a crowd. And I spoke to a lot of people who normally vote for the Labour Party; and many of them told me, loud and clear, that they disagreed completely with how Abela is handling this issue… Let's turn to the 'Qatargate' scandal that has recently en- gulfed the same European Par- liament. When the EP's rule-of- law delegation came to Malta, it concluded that 'arrests were not enough'; and that Malta needed an institutional root- and-branch reform. Do you feel that the same could be said for the EP, today? First of all, I can't speak on behalf of the European Parlia- ment. I occupy an administra- tive role within the EP; and as a candidate, I hope to represent Malta as an MEP. But that's as far as my ability to speak for the EPO goes. And in any case, the EP doesn't need someone like me to defend it: even because I don't think it needs any defending, over the way it handled the affair. Af- ter all, the fundamental point concerns how the EP reacted to the scandal; and [former EP vice president] Eva Kaili was ar- rested, and sacked from the EP, within 24 hours. So it's not like the Belgian police simply carried on 'eat- ing rabbit', as if nothing hap- pened… But that's how the Belgian po- lice responded, not the EP… The EP's reaction, under Roberta Metsola's leadership, was no different. At the earli- est opportunity, the EP took immediate and drastic action. In fact, the contrast between how Eva Kaili was treated, and both Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri, couldn't be clearer… All the same: in the local sce- nario, Malta was forced (among others, by the EP itself) to intro- duce many administrative re- forms. Shouldn't the EP do the same? And do you agree that the scandal itself came about, partly as a result of the EP's own resistance to more strin- gent financial scrutiny, in the past? Like so many others, I was shocked and disappointed by what happened… but let's not get carried away, by suggest- ing that it proves that the EP is 'dirty, or corrupt'… That's more or less how mem- ber states like Hungary are painting it, though. Can you blame them? After all that 'chest-thumping' and 'fin- ger-wagging' from the EP, on the subject of 'ethical govern- ance'? If you ask me, all this scandal really shows is that MEPS are human, at the end of the day; and they are just as exposed to temptation as everyone else. But it also shows us that the institution's mechanisms, and checks and balances, are actual- ly functioning quite well. If any- thing, the European parliament gave member states an exam- ple, of how one should respond to such circumstances. All in all, then, I would say that the events of the past two weeks show us that the European Par- liament DOES have a system of checks-and-balances in place; and that – unlike the case with Malta, and certain other mem- ber states - the system DOES actually work, in practice. One last question: among the other issues you mentioned earlier was agriculture… which, you say, is facing 'im- minent bankruptcy'. Ironically, this was one of the 'doom and gloom' scenarios predicted by Alfred Sant, before accession in 2004. Isn't it true, then, that Malta's European experience didn't exactly turn out as 'rosy' as planned, in certain sectors? I don't think anyone wants to revisit all the controversies that arose before accession: but as you know, the question of Malta's membership was ex- tensively discussed – for better or worse, and with 'flying tem- pers', and all the rest of it – be- fore a democratic decision was finally taken, in 2004, to join the EU. But if I were to synthesize my entire perspective, on Malta's membership in the EU today – which is also the reason why I chose to enter European poli- tics in the first place - I would begin by pointing out that the European Union has changed radically, in the past 20 years. We are now witnessing a war in Ukraine: where the EU has a vital role to play, because the war itself has implications on Europe's energy-provision; its food security… this is an eco- nomic war, as much as a mil- itary one; and certainly, noth- ing of the kind existed back in 2004. Meanwhile, the EU is also in the process of harmonising its taxation rules, in a way that has far-reaching implications for the local economy. Likewise, the practical impact of cer- tain EU rules, and directives, are having a suffocating effect on many sectors: including transport – which is becoming increasingly problematic for Malta, because the EU doesn't take into account our unique geographical situation – and also agriculture, fisheries, and others. And so, 20 years on: the real- ity is that, if we're not careful, we may well end up in a situa- tion where being EU members, would no longer be to our own advantage: it would become something that – as the Italians say - 'non ci conviene piu'. But that's because we are not making enough of an effort, to adapt to the changes currently affecting the European Union. It's like going to a tailor's shop; if you have a suit of clothes that no longer fits you… the tailor will shorten it from here; and lengthen it from there; until it fits again. And we did this, when we first joined [by adopting the full Ac- quis Comunautaire]; and we continued adapting, for around the first 10 years after mem- bership. Now, however, we are no longer tailoring our mem- bership within the EU, to actu- ally suit our needs as a country. This is my vocation, as an MEP candidate. I want to be that 'tailor', who adapts Malta's European 'clothing' to meet its needs. And that's why I visit so many factories, and farmers' fields, and offices, and university de- partments, and so many other places of work, every day. To get an on-the-ground under- stand of what is needed, in those sectors… and to see how we can make the most of Euro- pean legislation, to make our membership work for us again.