Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/697149
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 26 JUNE 2016 3 Brexit "Then there is the bogey man complex of the immigrant of course. First it was black people, then the Jews, then the Caribbean, later the Poles, Ro- manians, Bulgarians and now of course the Turks. This country is an im- migrant country that succeeds because of immigration. Inciden- tally this very evening, just 24 hours after the vote, a leading Brexit supporter, MEP Daniel Hannan has declared that a Norwe- gian-style arrangement may be the best option – this, of course includes free movement of labour. Brexit is looking increas- ingly like a con, with Boris John- son playing chief clown." He added that this week's Brit- ish referendum reminded him of Malta's EU accession referendum in 2003 "when the bogey man was the Sicilian hairdresser and the terror was an inevitable Aids epidemic from EU membership – somewhat depressing and pretty shallow. However as the Brits say, let's Keep Calm and Carry On." Gonzi: Malta needs Britain Former Prime Minister Law- rence Gonzi said he is confident that despite Britain's exit, Malta and the UK will retain a strong re- lationship. Asked whether Malta will benefit from Brexit, Gonzi said "there are always advantages and disadvan- tages. Both will probably balance each other out. As I have already stated, for us Maltese, we need Britain to remain a strong and successful economic partner with whom we will cooperate as trading partners and as active members of the Commonwealth of Nations." Gonzi said that any negative ef- fects on Malta can be mitigated through bilateral agreements be- tween the two countries, noting that "this is something that should not be difficult for us to implement since we already have a number of such bilateral agree- ments that benefit both sides and which can and should be strength- ened now that the UK will no long- er be a m e m b e r of the EU." W i t h B r i t a i n out of the EU, Malta could lose an im- portant ally in its strug- gle to resist attempts to h a r m o n i s e tax across the EU. But Gonzi, a convinced European, said that he honestly hopes and believes that the Mal- tese government will continue to defend Malta's interests as far as tax harmonisation and regularisa- tion of financial services are con- cerned. "In this, the Prime Minister would do well to take up Simon Busuttil's offer of cooperation in this and in other matters. Na- tional interest demands that both sides come together to defend what keeps us able to compete in a globalised world. Our economy, our jobs, the future of our younger generation depend on this. This was a red line in my time. I trust nothing has happened to change this." Gonzi believes that the Europe- an project remains a viable propo- sition. "The principles it represents and the values it embraces remain unchanged. It stands for re- spect for human dig- nity and human rights, freedom, d e m o c r a c y , equality and the rule of law. These p r i n c i - ples have brought peace and prosperity for all member states and it is an un- disputed fact that as a result EU citizens have gained immensely." Brexit however, Gonzi said, has shown that there is a disconnect between what the EU stands for and what citizens expect from EU leaders. "So far EU political leadership has failed to respond adequately to the immigration crisis. EU lead- ers have failed to practise solidar- ity where and when solidarity was needed. They have allowed aus- terity to dominate its economic policies even when it was clear to everyone that flexibility was nec- essary." The former PN leader added that some leaders have insisted on a one-size-fits-all model, forget- ting that Europe stands for unity in diversity. "The stark reality is that the political future of the European project depends very much on its political leaders – not those in Brussels but those leading its member states. If our Presidents and Prime Ministers shoulder the responsibility for their collective political decisions, if they do so in a manner that addresses the ma- jor concerns of our citizens: jobs, security, terrorism, education, health – then the EU project will have a solid basis for the future. If not, then the very raison d'etre of the union will be placed in doubt and the consequences will be dire for everyone." Asked whether he believes Brit- ain will prosper or flounder out- side of the EU, he said "the British people are resilient. Their econ- omy has some very strong fun- damentals and their democracy is a beacon for all the nations in the world. There is no rea- son why Britain should flounder outside of the EU. In my opin- ion, it would have been much more successful in the EU than out of the EU. But this is now beside the point. For us in Malta, it is crucial that we understand the importance for Brit- ain to be successful even outside of the EU. The fact that Malta will have the Presidency of the EU during a key stage of the negotiations for the exit, places more responsibility on us to be able to deliver a smooth transition which is not inspired by hard feel- ings, nostalgia or emotional knee jerk reactions." Gonzi said that he now ex- pects member states to react in a constructive manner, arguing strongly for a change of direction as well as updates in policies that deliver real and tangible benefits for citizens. "In all fairness one must state that in the past months – even before Friday's referendum – President Juncker had already launched a host of initiatives that are designed to stimulate eco- nomic growth and create jobs. More needs to be done." He however does not believe that other countries will want to emulate Britain and pointing out Scotland and Northern Ireland's willingness to break off from the UK to remain in the EU, Gonzi said the question is not whether other countries want out, but rather whether parts of the UK want in. Sant: War not lost but battles will get riskier for Malta Sounding a note of caution, for- mer Labour Prime Minister Al- fred Sant said European leaders will need to tread carefully follow- ing the British vote. "Adoption of a 'tough' stance towards the UK will be detrimen- tal to the EU's own interests; too 'soft' an approach runs the risk of loosening internal ties. There will be the calls for an acceleration of the unity project, proposing fur- ther 'deepening' of institutions. That would be another mistake; it could create further fissures. The best approach would be con- solidation after a period of reflec- tion about how best to carry out the forthcoming exit negotiations with the UK." Sant, who himself opposed Mal- ta's EU membership in 2003, said that initially, Britain might face some serious economic and finan- cial problems. "I am however wary of doom and gloom scenarios. By itself, Britain is a medium sized economy with lots of things going for it. In the medium term, it should have the capability to reposition its eco- nomic machine in the globalised economy and occupy quite a lu- crative niche." Sant, who now leads Labour's delegation within the European Parliament, said that rather than renegotiating their membership conditions, "which is largely a British ploy," member states will feel more empowered to resist the development of common EU poli- cies proposed to tackle new needs or emergencies, mainly in the im- migration sector, but quite possi- bly in other areas as well. "The Visegrad group have been active in this approach and will probably now feel vindicated." On whether other countries might now be encouraged to fol- low suit and exit the EU, Sant said there already are similar demands by the extreme right in Holland and other countries. "The big problem for the EU is that it is increasingly being per- ceived as some kind of Trojan horse for globalisation, leaving the working and middle classes without protection when times are hard." Sant said that Malta could bene- fit from Brexit, but only marginal- ly, "as the case could be made that Malta might benefit from finan- cial services opportunities at a Eu- ropean level, which will be given up by the UK as a result of Brexit. Others however will be prowling to make the same killings. On iG- aming, I would not rule out mean- while developments that have nothing to do with Brexit, but that would follow the patterns of Lux- leaks and the Panama papers." Asked whether Malta can sur- vive a possible onslaught to in- troduce tax harmonisation, Sant said he could not give a definite answer. "But for different reasons, dif- ferent member states, not just the UK or Malta, have reservations about tax harmonisation, or the regulation of financial services, or both. Countries like Austria, Hol- land, Cyprus, Ireland. So the war is not yet lost, but coming battles will get increasingly riskier, with- out a big player like the UK in the lists." Lawrence Gonzi: "It is crucial that we understand the importance for Britain to be successful even outside of the EU' Alfred Sant: 'The big problem for the EU is that it is increasingly being perceived as some kind of Trojan horse for globalisation'