It was five years ago today that Malta officially became a member of the European Union. It seems like yesterday.

On 1 May 2004, Malta began its new journey, one that has given the country political stability as it seeks to develop and grow within a consolidated structure that is helping it overcome the difficult economic period, even through the adoption of the euro as its currency.

The road to membership was not easy, as the country had been divided into practically two halves, with the Nationalist Party insisting that EU adherence was the only way forward, while the Labour Party believed that the best way was a partnership agreement.

The referendum held in March 2003 was won by the “Yes” campaign and this decision was confirmed a month later with an election victory for the Nationalist Party. Since then, the Labour Party has changed its policy, and strives to achieve the best out of Malta’s membership.

Those who believed that Malta would have been transformed overnight were probably disappointed, as Malta’s membership was not simply the pressing of a button. It is a long process that will see gradual change to the benefit of the whole population.

In a way, membership is a constant examination of ourselves, with the difference that, unlike a student who is on his own with the examination paper, Malta is being constantly assisted to pass the test. It is, however, up to us to take all the possible advantages of membership and turn them into opportunities for the country to develop.

Of course, not everything is going well. For example, we still have below standard roads which we would all like to see rebuilt from scratch. And we would also like to have the EU, as a bloc and as individual countries, giving us more of a helping hand when it comes to dealing with the illegal immigration problem.

But, on the other hand, it must be admitted that there have been more pros than cons following the decision that was taken in 2003.

The fifth anniversary of Malta’s EU membership comes at a time when the political parties are geared up for the European Parliament election that will be held next month. The situation is similar to what we had in 2004, although the circumstances are different. The two major parties, as well as the smaller ones, will be doing their utmost to use the coming five weeks to attract as many voters as possible.

While acknowledging that an EP election – and that for local councils – is nowhere near in importance when compared to a general election, it is nonetheless a chance for the political parties to get a feel of what the people are thinking.

Last time, the people gave the ruling PN a rap on the knuckles by electing three Labour candidates as MEPs to the Nationalists’ two, while Alternattiva Demokratika’s candidate was the last to be eliminated. Whether we will have the same result, and whether the smaller parties will repeat the same performance remains to be seen.

What is important is that the people realise that they will not be electing a “party”, but our representatives at the European Parliament. So they must choose those candidates who they think will carry out this particular work better than the others.

The fact that we have only five seats – six if the Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty goes through later on this year – makes it imperative that no seats are wasted.