Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1508764
15 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 1 OCTOBER 2023 ANALYSIS sion's proposal presented in June asks member states to fork out €66 billion to cover expenses related to Ukraine, migration management, and borrowing costs from the COVID-19 recovery plan, among other things. The European Parliament has since adopted its position on the proposed review of the MFF, calling for top-ups to the tune of an additional €10 bil- lion. Meloni said during the Med9 summit that Italy is expecting massive resources from the MFF, while Croatia's prime minister Andrej Plenković said that resources should also be put towards climate crisis re- lief. Europe's budget: summit Getting the future right IN the current globalised and interde- pendent geopolitical and economic con- text, a country can afford to be an island only in the cartographic sense. All the more so in a diverse and densely populat- ed region facing very specific and inter- twined challenges and having boundless opportunities like the Mediterranean. For the Mediterranean region to be transformed into an area where citizens feel secure and achieve their full poten- tial, the countries bordering its shores have no option but to work together to address the challenges they are facing and to capitalise on each other's strengths and assets to increase the region's com- petitiveness and resilience. All this is much easier said than done, but as at- tested by the out- come of the EU- MED 9 Summit hosted by Prime Minister Robert Abela in Malta last Friday, the southern coun- tries of the EU are committed to putting their shoulders to the wheel and working to- gether for a stable, peaceful and prosper- ous Mediterranean region. Furthermore, in the Declaration of the Summit held in Malta the EU-MED 9 have renewed their commitment to en- suring that the EU provides the necessary assistance to the Mediterranean, which after all is in its best interests, as whatev- er happens in the region will have a great impact on Europe. The Declaration of the EU-MED 9 Summit is actually a comprehensive, yet practical, plan for a bright future for our region. The Declaration underlines aspects which are crucial for the EU-MED 9 within the framework of the EU, such as the need to complete the single market, whilst ensuring a level playing field for countries on the periphery of the Union. The gradual but sustained transition to a carbon neutral economy, the commit- ment to putting the social dimension at the core of EU policy making, prioritis- ing investment in education and training, and the successful conclusion of negotia- tions on the Pact on Migration and Asy- lum, are other examples of EU-MED 9 priorities in the context of the EU. However, the Summit Declaration looks beyond the EU's frontiers, as the chal- lenges the Mediterranean is facing know no borders and cannot be addressed by any one country acting alone. The MED 9 Leaders are calling on the EU to forge comprehensive and strate- gic partnerships between the EU and our south- ern neighbours, restoring the re- gion to its rightful place on the EU agenda. These partner- ships have to ad- dress the most acute problems our neighbours are facing, such as climate change adaptation and the complexities of irregular migration and the fight against smuggling networks. However, for these partnerships to be truly successful we also have to help our neighbours tap into their full potential, focusing on forward-looking sectors like renewables and digital. Such cooperation would turn our region into a sustaina- ble green economic powerhouse which leaves no one behind. Whether we like it or not, the future is coming. We have to make sure that the right decisions are taken at the right time, if we want to get the future of the Mediterranean region right. The Declaration of the EU-MED 9 Sum- mit held in Malta last Friday can be con- sidered a roadmap to our destination, and we should be very proud that Malta played such a crucial role in the drawing up of this plan. Glenn Micallef Head of Secretariat at the Office of the Prime Minister "We have to make sure that the right decisions are taken at the right time, if we want to get the future of the Mediterranean region right."