Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1547166
6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 MARCH 2022 OPINION 2 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR KURT SANSONE ksansone@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 • 18 OCTOBER 2026 It's messy, it's European but it's also democratic Editorial WHEN Malta was heading towards European Un- ion membership, an argument in favour was that Malta will be at the negotiating table, at par with the rest. Nowhere, is that maxim true than when it comes to the discussions concerning the EU budget, or in Brussels speak, the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). Malta's prime minister is there with other European leaders negotiating the EU's long-term budget, which sets spending limits and outlines funding priorities over the next seven years. Each leader is there to argue for the national in- terest within a context that requires compromise to preserve the bloc's ability to face common challenges and adopt common action. Agreeing on a long-term budget is not easy. It never was and will continue to be difficult in the future, precisely because the EU model has been built around the notion of shared power between democratically-elected national governments (the European Council), a democratically-elected pan-European parliament, and a Brussels execu- tive (the European Commission) nominated and approved by the other two entities. It is undoubtedly a messy arrangement. What may be necessary at union level, may not ful- ly align with the narrow interests of individual states, and vice versa. This is why the big discus- sions, including those on the MFF, tend to drag on and transform into a veritable tug of war. The discussions in Brussels between EU leaders last Thursday ended in stalemate. On the one side are the so-called 'frugals', a group of net contrib- utor countries led by Germany that want to see the EU budget cut by several billions and greater emphasis placed on new challenges such as de- fence and competitiveness. On the opposite side are the self-styled 'friends of cohesion', a group of mostly southern and eastern countries led by Italy and Spain that want to retain the same level of funding for agriculture and cohesion policies. Malta forms part of the latter group, arguing that cohesion funding remains a cornerstone of EU spending in line with the overarching objec- tive of ensuring socio-economic development reaches every region of the bloc. But Malta has al- so emphasised competitiveness as an issue, which shows that even with these two major currents there is no homogeneity. This tussle is taking place within a challenging geopolitical scenario that sees Russia on one side, waging war on Ukraine and being responsible for sporadic hybrid attacks in Europe; and on the other side, a United States that has become unpredictable and antagonistic under Donald Trump. Looking from the outside, the European model appears fractured, fragmented and weak. There is some truth in this caricature. Member states may be pulling at different ends of the same rope, while the MFF is being discussed. This slows the process down and makes strategic change diffi- cult to achieve in a timely manner. But this way of getting things done is also grounded in a democratic system that values both the sovereignty of member states and the rights of European citizens as members of a union and not just a country. The formula is uniquely European. It has its flaws and imperfections. It needs tweaking and adaptation to cater for expansion and evolving world realities. But even in its messiness, the for- mula remains fundamentally democratic in na- ture. The MFF discussions held last Thursday suggest a bleak picture. The aim to conclude negotiations by the end of the year seems to be slipping away. Most leaders want a good deal even if it comes at the expense of timeliness. But there is no consen- sus on what a "good deal" looks like. The funda- mental tussle is that countries want to maximise EU funding due to them, while paying as little as possible to sustain the budget. This boils down to setting out the priorities for EU budgeting and this is where fundamental dif- ferences have emerged between the 'frugals' and the 'friends of cohesion'. Satisfying the funding aspirations of both groups equally would require a bigger EU budget, not a smaller one. With member states reluctant to pay more, the only tangible solution would be for the EU to have the ability to raise its own money through EU-wide taxes on certain cross-border activities. Alterna- tively, funding cuts will have to hit every aspect of the budget. A compromise will eventually be achieved even if the talks go down to the wire. The bigger ques- tion is what type of compromise it will be and whether it will be sufficient enough to address the most pressing challenges Europe will be fac- ing in the next seven years—competitiveness, energy security, defence, environmental sustain- ability, housing affordability, food security and investment in artificial intelligence. In a multi-polar world, where past certainties have vanished, it is in the interest of all EU coun- tries to work together to ensure long-term pros- perity, peace and security. MaltaToday 10 years ago Swedes haul Fenech's pension fund to police 16 October 2016 FORMER finance minister Tonio Fenech could be facing a criminal investigation in Sweden after the country's pensions author- ity reported to the Swedish police a Mal- ta-based fund he is a director of - allegedly for its inability to pay back Swedish savers their monies. It is the culmination of a saga that this week made headlines in all major Swedish news- papers, as the 'Pensions-myndigheten' - the Swedish pensions authority (SPA) - decided to take the matter to the country's economic crimes police. [...] In a multi-polar world, where past certainties have vanished, it is in the interest of all EU countries to work together to ensure long-term prosperity, peace and security