Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/779073
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 29 JANUARY 2017 2 EU Summit Muscat's opening salvo O n Wednesday 11 January, the European Union's leadership descended upon Malta for the official opening ceremony of the Maltese Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Present for the occasion were Jean Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, and the entire College of Commissioners. In the evening, they all headed to the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta, where they were joined by the President of Malta, Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, the Speaker of the House, the leader of the opposition, the Archbishop of Malta, ministers, ambassadors and countless other dignitaries. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat stood up to deliver his first im- portant speech while the country holds the presidency of the EU Council. And he did not disappoint, delivering an impassioned speech that reiterated the Maltese Presidency's key objectives, while highlight- ing a number of concerns and calling on the EU leadership – seated right behind him – to heed the cries of the citizens of the Union. Of course, Muscat insisted that – in light of the current migration situation – a compromise between EU Member States is required, in order to pave the way forward. "It is clear that the first step is securing borders, including maritime ones. There- fore, one of the priorities should be that the agreement with Turkey, which despite all of its prob- lems was the only step that had any impact, is replicated in the centre of the Mediterranean whilst keeping in mind the realities of this zone. This then needs to be accompanied by effective sharing of responsibility between member states." With Brexit looming on the horizon, despite recent legal setback's to Britsh PM Theresa May's plans to trigger Article 50 by March, and with Donald Trump assuming the office of President of the United States, Muscat warned against ignoring the rise of populism. "A group of politicians is rising in Europe and beyond. These politicians are asking the same questions people are asking in the serenity of their homes. And the questions posed by these groups are formulated to first attract people's attention and increase doubt, and then offer an answer. A wrong, populist, xeno- phobic, homophobic or sexist answer," he said. "Nonetheless, they are offering an answer. They are addressing the worries of those people talking at work, at the supermarket, at the hairdresser, at the dinner table. Therefore, our first task should not be a revolutionary one, but a relatively obvious one: identifying the questions people want us to answer." In all honesty, the people do not talk to us. They talk among themselves while working, shopping, and in their homes whilst sitting at the dinner table. In these settings, they do not talk about Europe's economy. They talk about food prices, about how they are working more, but earning less, about whether they can afford a holiday or even if they can afford their children's education. They do not talk about unemployment. But they do talk about their daughter, who is unable to find work, or about an uncle who has just lost his job due to his company choosing to relocate operations outside of Europe. They do not talk about European directives either. They do not talk about the immigration crisis in Europe. They talk about how foreigners, usually from a culture far removed from theirs, are taking jobs from them and from their children. They talk about how their taxes help immigrants living in their country yet they themselves are facing austerity. Then, they switch on their television and see politicians trying to answer the questions we presume the people are asking. And more often than not, they hear us answering questions they're not asking themselves. When they witness this, they reflect and say; "if they haven't even understood our questions yet, how can they come up with the solutions we are seeking?" In these six months, we will not solve all problems. We do not have the key to alleviating peoples' worries either. We are going to be realistic about what can be done and we are prepared to be honest interlocutors without major pretensions. Together, we also need to understand the questions people are posing. Let us not let populists answer people's questions, as their answers won't be the right ones. I believe that, in the European Values that have united us for 60 years, we can find the solutions to the genuine questions that our people are asking. I hope that in six months' time we meet again to proclaim that we have achieved our most humble goals and that, at the very least, we have started to address the questions people are asking at home. If successful, we would have launched a project that will not end during this or the following presidency. Maybe not even during our tenures. Rather, it will continue to evolve, and to respond to the needs of citizens by addressing imbalances, correcting faults, and listening to concerns, so that one day we can look back and define this as a moment where Europe showed it could come together in bad times as well as good. Realism comes from acknowledging that major challenges lie ahead. Challenges that we may have contributed to, by not answering the questions that our citizens expected us to. Brexit. Immigration. Economic Problems. Terrorism and Security. Unemployment, particularly youth unemployment. Poverty. Gender or sexual orientation inequality. And the relationships with our neighbours such as Russia and Turkey. The problems in Syria and, closer to our shores, in Libya. These are just a few of our most complex problems, and they are themes that will feature in the conclusions of each Council we will have during this presidency. Picture this: the country holding the Presidency of the European Union during this historic moment was not even independent sixty years ago. I am not speaking poetically. I'm saying this in order for everyone to put the context of the Maltese Presidency into perspective. The context of a pragmatic country that does not have delusions of grandeur. And this realism shall define this presidency. European ideals are attractive. We believe in them and we hold them at the core of our European mission. But one cannot live on ideology alone.