Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/278185
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 16 MARCH 2014 10 News European elections. The issues. The debates. The money… MALTA'S political scene has often appeared to jar with the prevailing trends and currents among our Eu- ropean counterparts. While other EU governments were committed to a culture of austerity, Maltese politi- cal parties were trying to outdo each other with a pre-electoral bonanza of largesse. And while voter turn-out for European elections is on the de- cline almost everywhere else in Eu- rope – an indication of the low level of public interest in this institution, which is also reflected in minimal press coverage outside Brussels – here in Malta we were recently treat- ed to a dramatic illustration of how seriously we take the same EP. The near-unanimous resolution condemning Malta for its celebrated passport scheme dominated head- lines at the time; and the issue itself was used by both sides to reassert the importance of having a 'strong pres- ence' in the Parliament. But like the resolution, the importance attached to the same EP by political parties – and to a lesser extent by the elector- ate; Malta enjoys the highest rate of participation in EP elections, even if it is low by local standards – may be overinflated. For one thing, the European Parlia- ment is only one cog – and a consult- ative one at that – in the wider Euro- pean policy forming and legislating machinery, alongside the Council of Ministers (i.e., European govern- ments) and the European Commis- sion. However, in the power struggle between these three entities its own powers have recently been much augmented. Voters in European elections now get to indirectly also elect the President of the otherwise unelected Commission; and other changes have given the Parliament more say in the formulation and rati- fication of European laws. Perhaps the most significant power enjoyed by the Parliament is that of setting the European Union's Budg- et, which has a direct knock-on ef- fect on most, if not all, the issues in which Malta has been prominently active or involved. A glance at two of these issues may help to delineate the precise limits of the European parliament as a venue to address any of the problems con- cerned. Immigration Irregular immigration has been a constant electoral issue ever since the first EP election in 2004: which also coincided with an apparent es- calation of the phenomenon. Then as now, Maltese MEP candi- dates invested part of their campaign energies into voicing popular – and often populist – concerns about the issue, and above all imparting the message that a strong representation in the European Parliament may rep- resent a possible 'solution'. When still an MEP, PN leader Si- mon Busuttil was an EP rapporteur for migration, and both he and his long-standing colleague David Casa were vociferous in their demands for more European support. Identi- cal pleas have more recently been made in the Labour representation: Marlene Mizzi similarly lambasted European institutions for their fail- ure to show solidarity to Malta last October. Yet it is debatable whether the European Parliament is indeed the institution best suited to raise these concerns. With both major parties committed to seek a mandatory burden sharing agreement, there is local consensus With the starter pistol about to go off for Malta's third European Election campaign, RAPHAEL VASSALLO takes a look at the trophy that awaits the six winners JOB FAIR 2014 Creating Jobs for a Better Malta 20 th , 21 st , 22 nd March 0900 - 1200hrs & 1400 - 1700hrs Daily Phoenicia Hotel During the fair, job interviews and recruitment will take SODFHE\WKHIROORZLQJÀUPVLQFROODERUDWLRQZLWK(7& Caremark (&(QJOLVK/DQJXDJH6FKRROV +6%&&DOO&HQWUH Malta Cleaning Contractors Association Maltapost plc 0HWKRGH(OHFWURQLFV 6DQ$QWRQLR+RWHODQG6SD 6HDEDQN5HVRUWDQG6SD 6HLIHUWPWP6\VWHPV0DOWD/WG 6LPRQGV)DUVRQV&LVNSOF 670LFURHOHFWURQLFV )RUPRUHLQIRUPDWLRQ call on 22201208 Maltese MEP candidates invested part of their campaign energies into voicing populist concerns about immigration – a constant electoral issue