Some tips on how to decide on EU membership

When the people are eventually called to decide in a referendum on whether Malta should join the European Union, they ought, in our humble opinion, to place their trust in what we consider to be some common sense considerations. We offer some of them as food for thought.

While many are right in thinking that EU membership is not the perfect solution for Malta's ills, do not fall into the trap of thinking that the 'alternatives' on offer are perfect. The question boils down to choosing between two imperfect worlds.

However one is better than the other. Heed all the arguments and evaluate them well. Be wary of those who paint the EU too rosy. But definitely do the same in the case of those who do nothing but lambast the Union and Malta's achievements in the negotiations.

Evaluate the whole package and weigh both sides of the argument. Liberalisation and consumer rights add some burdens to local producers of goods and services. They certainly heat up competition in our small market.

But think of the benefits that are reaped by consumers, yourself included. Weigh the benefits of competition in stimulating creativity and economic growth.

The source is important

Advice on how you should vote in the referendum is freely given, often unsolicited. But the source of information is also very important in another way. For example, of all the overseas guests who have come to Malta to advise us one way or the other, who is the more credible?

Are we decide Malta's future on the advice of an anti-EU citizen whose country has benefited from EU, membership, whose country has no intention of leaving the EU and who may be personally benefiting from EU membership?

Remember that the majority of EU citizens have the luxury to criticise the Union - something that we may also enjoy in the future if we join - because they are secure within its confines and participate in its benefits.

What about the local crusaders?

As for the local anti-EU crusaders, our advice is "respect their views". Take them seriously. But remember that many of the front liners have consistently erred in a big way when trusted with political decision-making, and Malta still suffers from their past mistakes.

So do not let yourself be conned a second time. If you do, then people will be right to call you foolish.

Big changes have taken place

The effort to join the EU has brought a fresh wind of change in our country. The Maltese people are discussing such things as the environment, health and safety regulations, fisheries, agriculture, consumer rights, fair competition and many more subjects of local interest that hardly commanded attention in the past.

This project of change needs to be brought to a conclusion - for our enormous benefit. Then we can stop complaining about Malta being a "pajjiz tal-Mickey Mouse".

EU membership will continue to stimulate change in many other sectors of society. Not all change will be for the better. But most of it will be. It will improve the quality of our lives as it has done in the countries of the EU.

The very fact that EU membership has stimulated us to think seriously about long-overdue changes is positive. Remove that stimulus and life will return to its sleepy normality until disaster strikes.

Think of our problems

The main problems Malta faces are amply clear. Government spending, the Maghtab tip, the state of our roads, the environment in general, the pensions time-bomb and many more problems will not disappear when Malta joins the EU.

But does EU membership provide a better context due to the aid Malta will receive from the EU and a more robust economic performance to help us tackle these problems? We believe that EU membership provides us with more resources to resolve these issues.

Lacking these resources the problems can only worsen. There is no way in a non-membership scenario of matching the aid Malta will receive as part of the EU membership package.

The only way out would be to tax the Maltese people harder. The burden would as usual fall on the weakest in society.

Malta in an international context

When you think of EU membership in an international relations context, just ask yourselves a simple question: how do we want Malta to position itself internationally?

In this regard, ponder on the reality that many other countries apart from Malta want to join the EU. What will happen if they join and we stay out? They will be our direct competitors in the EU market.

Never mind that we have been in that market since 1971 and they only started after 1992. They can elbow us out if they join and we stay out. Malta will be further marginalised.

When negotiating with the EU as outsiders, we would have to take them all on - the 24 or 26, not just the 15. Fifteen was already a challenge. Think what 24 or 26 would be to negotiate the promised (red herring) "special partnership arrangement" with the EU.

A Euro-Mediterranean partnership

Do not be misled by the hype on signing up to a partnership agreement with the EU if we do not join. That is the only thing on offer if we refuse membership. Even if you do not vote for it, that is what you will get.

A Euro-Mediterranean partnership agreement is the optimum on offer for Mediterranean countries which cannot or do not want to join the Union.

This type of agreement contributes towards greater regional stability and helps the countries concerned strengthen their links with the EU. We have nothing but praise for these agreements.

But for a country like Malta, which has the opportunity of joining the EU, this type of agreement is at best its second-best option.

Can Malta get a special deal?

Special treatment is normally reserved for members of the EU, not for outsiders. The UK, the Danes and the Irish have all been given their opt-outs.

Malta has negotiated for itself special derogations and/or concessions in the area of fisheries, free movement of workers, the purchase of property by foreigners and many other benefits.

Be assured that none of these will be available in a non-membership scenario and an attempt to secure them sets the scene for a protracted and ongoing negotiating battle with the Commission in Brussels.

Now can the country afford this uncertainty?

Will investment come if we are in or out?

Shift your gaze slightly to foreign direct investment (FDI), which is so necessary to help our economy grow. The "ins" will do better than us. They would be in a position to offer EU membership as an incentive to investors.

We will not. The "ins" will receive aid from the structural funds that would also help them attract investment and generate growth; we would not.

So in the cutthroat competition for precious FDI we will have to compete at a disadvantage should we turn our backs on membership. The opportunities available to our young people will be less. Our living standards may fall, or alternatively progress very slowly. Now do we really want this?

Will Malta's international credibility survive if we change our minds on EU membership a second time? Can we weather the shock?

Our identity

The Maltese language is an official EU language. Maltese will continue to be spoken if we join the EU, just as it is spoken now. We will maintain our control on other key areas, such as culture and education.

But a rich economy has more resources to spare in this domain than a poor one. So how is the cause of our cultural identity better pursued? By membership or isolation?

Malta's identity in Europe and in the international arena will be enhanced because Malta will gain in influence. It will participate in decision-making in Europe and in world forums through the EU.

Malta's identity was not wiped out by years of colonialism. How can it be endangered in a pluralistic, democratic community such as the EU, based on a mosaic of identities?

An end to isolationism

Isolationism is an island's most permanent handicap. We need to do more to strengthen our bridges with the rest of the world. Europe's transport and communications networks will help us overcome this problem.

In the educational field our youths need to avail themselves of the training opportunities in Europe - as citizens of Europe.

We need to strengthen the links and the human traffic between Malta and the rest of Europe. Maltese citizens trained in Europe will return here to invest, to provide services even internationally and help the economy keep growing.

Cut the umbilical cord with Europe and the opportunities here will dry up. Then people will think seriously of leaving. There is no counterpart in a non-membership scenario to the networks of training and education available to Malta when it joins the EU.

Now can we really afford to turn our backs on all this? Europe matters a lot to us. It is the key to our future development.

Some concluding remarks... look at the whole picture

It is patently tempting to look at EU membership from one's personal angle. Many will doubtlessly do so. But we think that this is a mistaken approach. We have to look at the whole picture.

Think of the imaginary farmer who believes that he is safeguarding his interests by voting "no" in the referendum, say, to save his bananas, but then finds out in a non-membership situation that his quality of life is diminished by an inability to reverse the rot in the environment for lack of funds, that the opportunities for his sons and daughters are less because the economy is not doing well and that the taxman is always on his back because the country needs money and this is nowhere to be found.

Or think of the shopowner who has been convinced against the truth that "foreigners" will take over his business when we join the EU! That is out of the question really. He would be better off thinking how his small business will grow if the economy does better as a result of membership... and how he may have to close it down if the economy plummets as a result of a decision to stay out of the EU.

We need to think this whole membership business thoroughly, to focus on the whole picture, not just part of it, and to weigh clearly the direct as well as indirect effects. It is not a simple matter of how will I personally be affected. There's much more to it than that.