Malta's straightforward commissioner

When Joe Borg's assistant gave me the directions to his home in Ibragg, she added with a smile at the end of the message: "They are building right next to him". When I came across an excavation the size of a landfill, among all the machinery-induced chaos I figured I had come to the right place. Dr Borg came rather apologetically to the front door. "Excuse the mess," he said, "but the construction work next door has caused cracks in the house and we are taking the opportunity to redecorate."

His job may have changed, along with his office and his employer. But he certainly has not. He is still the same modest and straightforward man who occupied the post of Foreign Minister during one of the most tricky periods in Malta's history. As a reminder there is a very small - little bigger than two postage stamps - snapshot of him with the former Prime Minister signing the Accession Treaty in Athens stuck to his glass bookcase. He is sitting somewhere in the centre of the room, surrounded by many items that have been crammed in there to help the decorators - from his beloved chessboards to a fish tank.

His wife and two children are based at home, while he tries to spend a long weekend there from Brussels once a month, to supposedly get a little respite from all the travelling he has already done as he shadows the EU's commissioner for development and humanitarian aid, Poul Nielson. His six-month stint is almost over, though it was a tough start for Dr Borg back in April, as he faced a grilling he was hardly expecting from MEPs before taking his role as Malta's first commissioner.

"They were tougher than we were led to expect. We were told that this was going to be a one-hour formality where you make a presentation, they ask you a couple of questions and that's it. It resulted that the parliamentarians decided to be very tough, maybe because it was close to the EP elections and they wanted to show their metal."

In fact, he ended up in a little hot water on both sides of the continent for passing certain comments about abortion. "I said that I agree with the EU position taken in Cairo: that nothing should be done which would favour abortion in any developing country, but on the other hand where abortion is legal then it should be safe".

"Throughout the world, there are a huge number of countries where abortion is legal and as a commissioner you cannot not accept that as a statement of fact. That doesn't mean that you favour abortion. So I can accept a situation where nothing is done to promote abortion, nothing is done to try and convince countries where it is illegal to permit it, but where it is legal, it is better at least to provide service to ensure that it would be safe for the sake of not just aborting but not to risk the mother's life."

Dr Borg says willingly that development cooperation is not his ideal portfolio, more than anything because it is an area to which he had very little previous exposure, but he has managed to cut his teeth in the Commission all the same. Now his mind is already focussing on the new portfolio he is due to get after the new EU Commission president José Manuel Barroso is introduced to the European Parliament next week.

Mr Barroso has given no indications as to who will get what. In fact, he has not yet discussed the issue with any of the commissioners. "It is certainly a hot issue and everyone tries to lobby for his corner. I myself am trying to do that. I spoke with the Prime Minister, the Foreign Affairs Minister so that we coordinate our efforts. Now the next step is to meet Mr Barroso to discuss with him what I would be interested in having. That will probably take place between the end of next week and the week after. I will indicate to him the areas I wish to avoid and indicate the areas I would prefer. Then it's up to him to decide."

Dr Borg is certainly keen to avoid certain portfolios where he has little experience - though he will give it his best shot come what may. "Given my experience of development cooperation, I would prefer to avoid it. On the other hand, humanitarian food aid and assistance is very interesting." He would also like to avoid issues related to the internal market.

"My preferred areas are anything connected with the external dimension of the EU even because of the fact that I spent the past five years of my life as a Foreign Minister and, therefore, there is a certain amount of acquired experience and knowledge." He adds that he would not mind a portfolio related to a range of other fields from enterprise policy to fisheries. "Some of these are related to Malta and that is somewhat natural because at the end of the day the president would factor in the background of the individual commissioner."

Far from believing that being Maltese is a disadvantage to him, he thinks that coming from a small country may work in a commissioner's favour since certain portfolios are not given to commissioners of the larger member states "because of the baggage they carry. So you can end up with a weighty portfolio and come from a small member state". Dr Borg is currently not looking beyond the next five years but he is clearly hoping for something different to what he has experienced up till now.

The commissioner describes the new EU constitution as a "very good balance" and a significant step forward, since for the first time people can speak of an EU that has its own separate existence. However, he adds that every effort must be made to sell it to the European public through a proper, decent information campaign - which will be necessary given that certain member states will hold referendums in their countries over whether to adopt it or not.

"Holding a referendum is a risk because if it does not succeed in at least one of the countries then the next question is 'what's going to happen next?' Will there be a constitution that will apply to some members and not others? Do we have to negotiate something new? I am not against the holding of referendums in this case but I am not promoting it either. It's up to the government of the country to determine."

He says that the failure by one or more countries to accept it would be more of a short-term problem rather than a catastrophe - but he does not rule out a situation where some countries adopt it while others do not. "The EU could decide to continue forward and then establish a modus operandi possibly with a time period for those who are not part of it - as happened with the Economic and Monetary Union. It would not be a first, but it would be a pity."

Unlike some, he does not see Britain's rejection of the constitution as a foregone conclusion: "When it comes to taking such decisions, the British know where to butter their bread so to speak and one may be very pleasantly surprised with the result there and it may set the pace for the rest rather than the other way round."

How times have changed, since not long ago the British were saying precisely the same thing about the Maltese. But now the island is a willing member of the club and Dr Borg says that adapting to the new scenario has not been difficult. "I found it much easier than I expected and you are treated as an equal. If you have your own view, express it, and if you don't have one then no one is going to tell you what you should do and what you shouldn't. And that's fine."

Which is more than can be said for the construction work going on outside.