Malta joined the European Union 15 years ago last Wednesday, following a debate lasting a total of 25 years. Yes the debate as to whether to join the European Union lasted that long. The idea of EU membership was first put forward by the Nationalist Party way back in 1979, when it was in Opposition.
It needs to be stated that, even when Malta was about to gain independence from the United Kingdom in 1964, the Maltese government of the time had floated the idea of membership of the Common Market (as the EU was known then).
Once the PN was elected to govern the country in 1987, it set into motion the process of submitting a formal application, which it did in 1990. That application process was frozen between end of 1996 and end of 1998 and it was reactivated once the PN was back in government after the 1998 general election.
This broad historical background is important because it shows that the decision to become a member of the EU was not taken lightly. I would go as far as saying that those who had initially opposed EU membership have helped to ensure that Malta really negotiated the best possible conditions. The old adage of the thesis and antithesis merging into a synthesis truly worked well in this circumstance.
I strongly believe that the expected benefits that had been envisaged at the time of joining the EU have essentially all become reality. Our standard of living has improved and the economy has grown by leaps and bounds. The EU funds that had been expected to flow into our economy have indeed flowed in, as can be seen from the extensive investment in the infrastructure related to transport, education and other areas. Maybe one figure says it all – our economy has more than doubled in size since 2004.
We can look back with satisfaction and claim that we took the right decision to join the EU
Someone may claim that such results could have been achieved even if Malta had not become a member of the EU. It is simply not the case. Those that are involved in attracting investment to Malta know full well that they leverage Malta’s membership of the EU in their sales and marketing pitches, and are listened to because investors consider our EU membership to be one of our important strengths as it represents stability.
We also need to appreciate that successive governments have made sure and continue to make sure we exploit all the possible opportunities offered by our country’s membership of the EU, both on the economic front as well as on other fronts. We have not held back.
Our adoption of the euro in January 2008 has also been of critical importance. Malta would simply have not survived the international economic turmoil of subsequent years had we not joined the eurozone when we did.
It is also very pleasing to note that the Maltese have generally embraced the European project. At the time of the EU referendum in 2003, 54 per cent had voted in favour of Malta’s membership. Today as much as 91 per cent believe that Malta has benefitted from its membership of the EU – the highest level across the 28 member states. Moreover around 70 per cent believe that Malta will be worse off outside the EU.
Research is showing that we have definitely become more European in our outlook in the last 15 years, and as a country we are certainly not Eurosceptic. The level of trust in European institutions is among the highest in Europe, as is the level of support for EU initiatives on issues such as the economy, the environment and education.
Fifteen years on, we can look back with satisfaction and claim that we took the right decision to join the EU.
However, this does not provide a guarantee for the future. It proved to be the right decision because we worked hard and still continue to work hard as a country to exploit the full benefits of EU membership.
We need to continue working hard to ensure that the success of the past 15 years, repeats itself in the years to come.