Excellent week for Maltese in Europe

It is indeed remarkable to see how, in the "political" field, our Maltese nationals are distinguishing themselves so well with our European counterparts.

It was a pleasure to listen to John Dalli answer questions during the three-hour hearing before the environment and internal market committees of the European Parliament. Peter Liese, the EPP Group coordinator of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, described Mr Dalli as "very competent" and "the right man for the job" of Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy.

Also last week, the highest distinction awarded by France of Commandeur de la Légion d'Honneur (Commander of the Order of the Legion of Honour) was bestowed on President Emeritus Eddie Fenech Adami for being a "remarkable statesman" in post-independent Malta. French Ambassador Daniel Rondeau told The Sunday Times: "Eddie Fenech Adami... is the architect of Malta in the EU and he will go down in history for that."

Last October, Joanna Drake, another Maltese national, was appointed director of the Directorate General for Enterprise. She is the director responsible for the promotion of competitiveness of small and medium enterprises.

Dr Drake, who has been the Commission's representative to Malta for the past years, is the first Maltese to be appointed to the highest echelons of the European Commission in Brussels.

These outstanding "feats" clearly show that Malta's size does not matter and that we can achieve the top most places, on an international level, in all fields.