Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/306555
VIII Europe 2014 NEXT month's European elections comes at a pivotal time for the Euro- pean Union, which – in all states but Malta, it would seem – is currently battling a tide of negative public opinion. International coverage of this elec- tion predicts a historic win for the Eurosceptics across the board, with parties inimical to the EU expected take up to 30% of the EP's 757 seats. This may not be enough to upset the pro-EU balance maintained by the larger parties (including Labour's own Party of European Socialists), but it certainly reflects a growing disenchantment with the European project among citizens at large. Yet at the same time, the feeling on the ground in Malta – at least, among the major parties – is the complete reverse. Labour is now more keen than ever on ditching its past 'Eurosceptic' label once and for all; and its campaign to date has taken pains to claim the European Union as its own territory. There is, however, a small snag. Several of the party's candidates are themselves remnants of the same Euroscep- tic label currently being jettisoned. One – former prime minister Alfred Sant – was the architect of Labour's anti-accession stand in 2003. And Miriam Dalli, the radiant former television presenter turned EP can- didate, was his chief mouthpiece during the referendum campaign. Doesn't this send out mixed mes- sages on Labour's attitude towards Europe? And more to the point: is she worried that her former stance might be used as an electoral weap- on against her in the campaign? "It is definitely a weapon that is used, as you put it," Dalli begins al- most with a sigh. "But it doesn't nec- essarily have the intended effect." Miriam Dalli argues that the Na- tionalist Party's traditional reliance on Europe as an electoral strategy may now be wearing thin. "To me it's a closed chapter. Ten years later the EU is now our natural home… in the sense that we are a member state. It is a reality." Does this mean she regrets the stand her party took in 2003, and which she herself transmitted to the people through her position on Super One TV? "I don't say 'we were wrong'. Back then I sincerely felt we were not prepared to join. Today we can see how there were some positive things that came out of Europe. It doesn't mean that eve- rything coming out of Europe has to be positive, though. Europe decides on a lot of things that have a direct impact on the lives of citizens, in- cluding Maltese families, and it pays to be vigilant and not to just accept everything because Europe says so." This, she adds, is why the PN's strategy of reminding people of her own former anti-membership stance is unlikely to work this time round. "I talk to a lot of people – families, businessmen, corporations – and they are concerned about how they may be impacted by decisions taken in Brussels. Who is better placed to defend the rights of Maltese citizens than the people who from the out- set had adopted a cautious approach to European affairs? As opposed to the people who have repeatedly told us that what the EU says is always good, because the EU said it…" As examples of the people she now meets on a regular basis, she cites the air traffic control sector, which is concerned with how they might be affected by the Single Skies di- rective: a European Commission initiative by which the design, man- agement and regulation of airspace will be coordinated throughout the European Union (ECAA area). Likewise, the health sector has cause for concerned. "I met a com- pany which produces hospital equipment, and they explained how they were affected by EU legislation banning PVC, which gives third countries a competitive advantage." Elsewhere, she argues that Malta's financial services sector is constant- ly in need of defence against com- petition from within Europe. The same applies to the gaming sector. "Malta is attacked in these areas because we have been successful. A small country like Malta has shown that it can become a market leader in certain areas. But we have to be careful of European initiatives that do not necessarily attack our indus- tries directly, but indirectly through other areas of legislation." In the case of both the financial services and gaming sectors, such legislation could include the fourth Anti-Money Laundering act, which includes a specific section on gam- bling, with particular reference to match-fixing and legal online bet- ting. All this has possible repercus- sions on Malta's thriving but vul- nerable sectors. "You have to pay attention to all the legislation that is coming out, not just the directives which regulate any given industry." Meanwhile, it is not just the La- bour Party's attitude towards which has changed, she reminds me, but also people's expectations of the EU. "You can still be in favour of Malta as a member state, but also recog- nise that some things might not make sense for Malta." Predictably, her chosen example involves immigration: the sleeping volcano of an issue that has consist- ently proved Malta's biggest concern when it comes to EU-related affairs. "We had a voluntary agreement [to resettle asylum seekers], but we can all see that this is not working. Like- wise the directives in place are not suited to Malta's needs. You have to be humane, we all agree on this. I have concerns of my own, especially regarding the situation of unaccom- panied minors in detention. But we also need practical responses to real problems." These, she adds, have not been forthcoming under existing proto- cols. Singling out the Dublin II con- vention, she argues that this in prac- tice translates into asylum seekers being forced to remain in the first point of entry to the EU: something which is not in the interest of either the asylum seeker or Malta. "I agree with the argument that, once an ap- plication is processed, and asylum within the EU has been granted, the beneficiary should be free to travel anywhere in the EU." But she concedes that the situa- tion has improved, in the sense that Europe is now 'listening more'. "What I saw as positive was the setting up of the Task Force Medi- terranean, featuring Italy, Malta, Greece and another 14 countries, to co-ordinate border surveillance in the Mediterranean. Another good development was the fact that the EU has now included immigration, alongside terrorism and organised crime, in the common EU defence and security policy." But resolutions, on their own, are not enough. "Am I content with these improvements? No, a lot more still needs to be done." It remains questionable, however, whether the European Parliament is the best-placed institution to deal with such issues. Many of the regu- lations in place are international treaties that cannot be rescinded by a parliamentary vote. Besides; re- cent experience – in particular the EP debate on Malta's citizenship scheme – has demonstrated that EP resolutions may not, in practice, be all they're cracked up to be. If elected, Miriam Dalli will be one of only six Maltese MEPs out of 757. And judging that the Labour con- tingent currently enjoys a major- ity of four seats to the PN's two, it proved unable in practice to block a recent resolution condemning the Labour government's contro- versial IIP scheme. To compound this situation, the resolution in itself proved toothless; as we all saw, the IIP scheme was approved follow- ing amendments, rendering the EP resolution obsolete. Is the uncomfortable reality, then, that Maltese MEPs are simply pow- erless to make a difference in Eu- rope? Dalli shrugs. "Mathematically, the fact that we have only six seats makes it impossible to have the same level of influence as larger countries. But you can't look only at the work of the plenary. MEPs can make a big difference in their work within committees and within the parliamentary group." That said, she acknowledges that the recent debacle also conveyed to the party just how much harder it has to work. "There is a lot of groundwork that needs to be done, evidently. We need to work harder at lobbying, within our own group and I'd venture to say within other groups too." At times the parties themselves give the impression that the EP serves mainly as a launch-pad for local politics, or as a convenient so- lution to local political situations. Both present party leaders cut their teeth in the European parliament; PL deputy leader Louis Grech va- cated his seat to buttress the Labour electoral machine; and even the candidacy of Alfred Sant could be interpreted as a ploy by Muscat to 'accommodate' a former leader who could in time prove troublesome (just as Mintoff had earlier troubled Sant). Doesn't all this devalue the role of an MEP? Doesn't it argue the case that the position rally is part of a gravy train that serves ulterior mo- tives to the parties? Dalli smiles. "Let me play the dev- il's advocate on this one. If it is true that Muscat is trying to neutralise Sant, it's not a very good way to do it. Sant could trip Joseph Muscat up from the EP, too…" She likewise dismisses the gravy train argument. "People have that perception, it is true, but I think it's because they don't really know how much work is involved. And the more committed you are to repre- senting people's interest, the more work there will be. I would want to bring more to the European table through my candidature. I certainly don't expect it to be easy." That said, Dalli's past as a televi- sion personality in her own right – not only as a newsreader, which brought her face into every living room in Malta and Gozo, but also as a presenter of talk-shows such as TX – may also have given her campaign a helping hand. How confident is she of her own election to the EP By Raphael Vassallo DEFENDING CITIZENS Who is better placed to defend the rights of Maltese citizens than the people who from the outset had adopted a cautious approach to European affairs? EUROSCEPTICISM Euroscepticism arises from the EU's failure to address issues that are of fundamental concern to citizens. For example, youth employment… maltatoday, SUNDAY, 4 MAY 2014 'Not just a face on TV'