Mintoff’s vision of European defence

Former prime minister Dom Mintoff and his foreign policy positions are frequently cited when the question of Malta’s position vis-à-vis collective European security arises. While Mintoff’s political life is strongly linked to his commitment to Maltese neutrality, his stance was much more nuanced than might meet the eye.

When giving a speech at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on September 28, 1978, in his role as chairman-in-office of the Committee of Ministers of the same council, Mintoff told the assembly that the European Community had not made enough progress in developing a “real Western European identity”.

Mintoff continued by saying that the European states had failed to “even lay the foundation for a third force, which, while keeping its economic and cultural links with either of the two superpowers, will act in complete political independence on the major global issues of today”.

The Maltese prime minister further told the assembly that “without solving the problem of security, it is impossible for Western Europe even to begin thinking in terms of self-assertion”.

Here, Mintoff was expounding his vision for (Western) Europe: a union of states which, while not isolating itself from other global actors, asserts itself as an autonomous, independent force able to pave its own path, assert itself on the international stage, while taking care of its own security needs.

Mintoff linked his vision of a Western Europe, which was autonomous in terms of security, to Malta’s position in the world. In a public speech given in Birkirkara on May 30, 1981, during the first Labour Party mass meeting of that electoral campaign, Mintoff laid down his vision for Malta within a strong, militarily-autonomous Europe: Mintoff’s vision was that Malta should join what was then the EEC, once the community was in a position not to be in need of American bases to protect it.

In his speech, Mintoff continued by saying that this had to be done within the context of Europe establishing good relations with its Mediterranean neighbours.

Mintoff, in his speech, contended that, by the time Europe was in a position to assert itself as an autonomous force with a unified and independent foreign policy, unencumbered by foreign bases, Malta would have reached a level of economic development that would enable it to join the EEC.

 In what is particularly pertinent to the present day, at a time when tariffs are again on the global agenda, in his speech Mintoff said that the EEC’s tariffs on imports from certain countries would cause hyperinflation in Malta. This was a time when salaries in Malta were considerably lower than those in most of Western Europe and when the country depended on imports from a number of non-EEC countries, including the traditional Commonwealth trading partners.

Dom Mintoff’s stance on European defence was very similar to the Gaullist one- Stefan Buhagiar

In essence, in 1981, Mintoff mapped out the road towards Malta’s membership of what was then the EEC, which entailed the EEC strengthening itself to the point that it would not rely on external actors and having a non-aligned foreign policy.

Mintoff’s stance on European defence was very similar to the Gaullist one, with an emphasis on developing independent, self-reliant capabilities rather than relying on the Transatlantic Partnership, with an emphasis on the Mediterranean dimension of European security.

Mintoff’s policy of Maltese neutrality was not based on isolationism but, contrarily, on having as many friendly relations with as many countries as possible. Neutrality was buoyed by a network of friendly relations which the Republic of Malta established with different countries across the North-South and East-West chasms.

The Maltese government’s goal at the time was to have four Mediterranean countries, namely Italy, France, Algeria and Libya, act as security guarantors. Eventually, Italy, one of the 12 founding-members of NATO, became the sole guarantor of Malta’s neutrality through the 1980 Neutrality Agreement.

While, admittedly, not of its own volition, Europe seems to have now found itself in the position which Mintoff had envisaged over 40 years ago as the US is reluctant to further invest in Europe’s defence, with hints that it is also considering withdrawing from Europe. While this is naturally a great challenge for European security, it can also be an opportunity for it to become the independent, strong third force, as Mintoff had envisaged.

While Mintoff advocated for European self-reliance in the field of security, it is also true that he made Maltese neutrality a cornerstone of his politics. The notion of neutrality gained wide acceptance and support in Malta over the years. In 1987, the parliament of Malta entrenched Malta’s neutrality in the constitution of Malta.

Malta’s role as a neutral country was perhaps cemented in 1989 with the Bush-Gorbachev Malta summit, which officially brought to an end the Cold War.

What Malta’s role will be within joint European defence initiatives, and to what extent Malta will be involved, remains open to debate.

Stefan Buhagiar

Stefan Buhagiar is a European Commission official. The views set out in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the European Commission.