Pat Cox warns against 'Maltese style' polarisation

The president of the European parliament, Pat Cox, had some strongly worded advice for prospective members of the European parliament, urging them not to take the Maltese polarised mentality into the European institution as they would not achieve what they were meant to.

"Malta is so polarised that everything is black or white. It is a perfect example of a bi-party system that is not found in the European parliament," he told a group of journalists from accession countries.

He said that if one looked at how the European parliament was composed it became immediately evident that no group of parties had enough MEPs to have a majority and decisions were taken by consensus.

"The polarisation in Malta is not a reason for people not to vote in elections for the European parliament. But if MEPs stay in the national trench they will be fighting lost battles.

"Get out of the national trench and use the system intelligently and you will earn respect and get to places," Mr Cox said.

"The European parliament is a very different kind of parliament. There is no government and opposition as there are in national parliaments and Euro MPs have to have a different frame of mind if they are to earn the respect they need that makes them influential when they need to be.

"If Euro MPs are parochial in attitude and mentality, their voice would be weakened. If MEPs come here and only speak about their country, they will find themselves isolated and have no influence. But if one gains respect, when there is an issue that really matters those that would have built credits by being good European politicians find that their credits pay them back.

"People cannot expect to come to the European parliament to talk only about national issues. They are there to help shape legislation in a way that benefits both their country and the EU and its citizens as a whole."

To give a practical example, Mr Cox said Maltese MEPs could contribute in the debate about whether tankers should have a single or double hull as the shipping sector was of particular interest to the Maltese economy.

But in the debate, one should not forget disasters such as the Erika one, he added.

"MEPs have to realise that if they want to influence and shape legislation, they had better get down to working hard in committees where they can really influence the outcome of things," he said.

Another tip for prospective Euro MPs was that they should align themselves with countries that have common interests.

"The shipping issue is not only interesting for Malta but for other countries too and by aligning oneself to such countries one has more support and weight," Mr Cox advised.

The European Commission drafts laws and parliament discusses and amends them accordingly. Laws are enacted if they win the support of at least half of the elected members plus one.

"MEPs shape continental scale law, even though few realise this," Mr Cox said.