Last week I visited Luxembourg and Vienna, the first as part of an exercise to present Malta to the financial sector and to meet the Central Bank of Luxembourg, and in the second to sign an investment protection agreement between Malta and Austria.
In both instances, the message that came forth was how important it is to grasp the opportunity that is presenting itself to us at the moment to join the European Union. There is a window of opportunity now that will close in the near future. Those who will not make it now would have lost all chance to make in a reasonable medium term.
This is mainly because the political situation in Europe is seen to be shifting to a more protective attitude. This will not only make it harder for countries to join the Union in future; it will also make it more difficult for countries which are not members to maintain their current trade practices with the EU, let alone expand them.
We know that it is of the utmost importance that Malta join Europe now. There is our future at stake. There is the future of our children and our future generations. It is abhorrent to subjugate these interests to mere pique and political positioning.
Partnership
The European Union is thinking ahead. It is no secret that major countries have placed themselves in the queue for EU membership. These include Russia, Ukraine and Turkey. It is also known that these countries are currently very far from reaching any type of convergence with the EU, not only in economic terms but also in terms of values, democratic practices, and institutional solidity.
However, in this day and age, the EU cannot afford to push these countries away. It still wants to strengthen its ties with them, not only for the immediate benefits that can result from close contact, but also for the impact that EU affiliation will generate and which will result in these countries approaching the thresholds which will eventually make them eligible for EU entry.
Malta's Labour, hungry as they are for a plausible argument to sustain their negative campaign on Europe, have jumped on the partnership bandwagon without understanding exactly what they are talking about. We heard their main spokesman on foreign affairs refer to the partnership agreement being drawn by the EU during the joint parliamentary committee recently held in Malta with our EU parliamentary colleagues.
A swift, succinct reply was given at that point in time. However Labour, devoid of any other sensible option, continued with this thrust.
I ask: are they really serious to equate Malta's position with that of Turkey, Ukraine and Russia? Do they think that our problems are similar to theirs? Do they believe that our level of development is at par with these countries? Do they honestly propose that our best interest is to seek a solution that is being concocted to keep these countries out of the Union while at the same time attempting to keep them as close as possible?
Labour must stop playing games. It must revamp its thinking process and instead of trying to build a plausible argument from a predetermined conclusion, they try to go through a bottom-up process, collate the relevant data, analyse them objectively, interpret them intelligently, and then reach a conclusion. A conclusion that can only be that in the way things are developing globally, our only option is to join Europe at the first opportunity, and that is now.
Our duty is to negotiate hard to get the best possible package with which we can be assured that our development will be smooth and sustainable. Their duty is not only to do nothing that obstructs us from this objective, but that they do everything in their power to ensure that Malta gets the best package. They must change tack. The damage they are causing by their tactics is irreversible and irretrievable.
MCAST
On Friday I had the opportunity to address students in one of the colleges that are forming the new College of Arts, Science and Technology. I addressed students that started reading for an accounting technicians course.
It is so important that we train people for middle management positions. I augur that these efforts will result in filling an existing gap in our management structures.
At the same time I could not help lamenting the folly of a labour government that had destroyed the MCAST that we had in the Sixties. I am a product of that MCAST that afforded tuition in professional subjects at extremely high levels to students who were employed. I still cannot understand what folly had led the socialists who took power in 1971 to vandalise our education system in such a way.