The benefits of membership

The Illes Balears (Balearic Islands), an archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea, is formed by the islands of Mallorca, Menorca, Eivissa (Ibiza) and Formentera: in all, a total surface area of 5,000 square kilometres and a population of more than 900,000 inhabitants. Administratively and politically, they are part of the Spanish state (Kingdom of Spain).

Many of you will surely know about us because they are one of the main tourist destinations of Europe: more than 11 million people visit our islands every year.

After having had the possibility of getting to know Malta and its people during the past year, thanks to the twinning agreement we signed over a year ago between the Balearic Islands and Malta, I cannot but look with healthy envy at the opportunity you have in the referendum next Saturday, because of the great similarity that exists between both archipelagos.

When Spain joined the EU in 1986, the Balearic Islands too became part of the EU. Becoming part of the EU meant a great impulse for our economy and for the quality of life of our population.

The basic characteristics of our economy are similar to and common with Malta's: an important services sector (with the predominance of the tourism sub-sector). We are, consequently, both extremely fragile because of external factors which are not linked to our economy (war, economic crises in other countries, etc); we are predominantly conditioned by our natural resources, simply because we are islands and "isolated" (water, reduced territory, energy, etc); and we are fundamentally dependent on certain infrastructures (ports, airports).

In all these key areas I mentioned, the EU has been the main instrument by which we have been able to face these adverse conditions. There are multiple examples of this: the grants that we give to our small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with the purpose of improving employment and the competitiveness of our productive set-up; the improvement of our network of drinking water supply and of the treatment of drainage and of solid waste, the development of highways, trains and airports, the training of human resources with special attention to women and youth, and so on. And all these initiatives have been and are still being co-financed by the EU, at a rate varying between 50 per cent and 85 per cent of the total expense.

Today, no citizen of the Balearic Islands could imagine the economic, social and environmental development which he enjoys without the 15 years of EU membership.

But, as I said earlier on, I contemplate your future process of accession to the EU (if you so decide democratically) with healthy envy, not only because of the opportunity you have of becoming a member of the EU (as we have already done to our benefit). My admiration or envy goes rather further for a reason: without doubt Malta and Gozo have the possibility and are in a situation of reaching this goal and of going a step further and taking advantage of this opportunity better than us. Why is this? Simply because your entry conditions to the EU are much better than those the Balearic Islands had and still have today. I do not only refer to the excellent financial package you have obtained from the EU but, concretely, to the 77 exceptions in the different sectors that Malta has secured in its EU Accession Treaty.

Without doubt, the Balearic Islands would be able to be more competitive in the tourism industry and the cost of living would be much better off if arriving international or continental passengers did not have to pay VAT, as will be the case for Malta. The agriculture and fishing sectors of Malta have obtained some excellent agreements that go from the protection of traditional Maltese products like the gbejna and the irkotta, to the possibility of eligibility of EU aid for products like tomato paste and lampuki (both also produced and very much appreciated in the Balearic Islands).

Of course, one cannot forget the important agreement concerning the purchase of secondary residences in Malta by EU citizens, which will not allow possible price increases in property in Malta as a result.

Other aspects, as you already know, include the Maltese language as an official language of the EU, a declaration of the neutrality of Malta, a Commissioner, five members of the European Parliament, one judge in the European Court of Justice, three votes in the Council of Ministers, etc.

The Balearic Islands, with a population double that of Malta's, has no concessions or arrangements. The conditions enjoyed by both within the EU do not compare. Malta's privileged position can be gauged by taking the example of our own language, the Catalan. Although spoken by more than seven million Europeans it is not an official EU language.

It is for these reasons I believe Malta and Gozo can benefit from much better conditions within the EU when compared to the Balearic Islands.

Take advantage of this great opportunity next Saturday: it is within your grasp and it depends on you.

Mr Sampol is vice president of the Balearic Islands and president of the Socialist Party of Mallorca and Menorca