Former Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti said that there is a widespread rejection of competence and experience as a basis for policy making and a growing mistrust in public institutions and personalities in western democracies.
“In Europe, this is visible via the declining trust in European institutions and declining trust in domestic institutions. “The main victim of this degeneration of the political process in Western democracies is that international integration,” he said.
He was addressing the Mediterranean Leadership Summit.
The Summit launched today, at the Hilton, Malta. It will take place today and tomorrow. The Summit aims to explore the vision for growth and competitiveness in the Mediterranean and has the support of the government of Malta.
Among the speakers are Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, UN Special representative of the Secretary General for International Migration Peter Sutherland, Group Chairman for Henley and Partners Christian Kalin, Former US assistant secretary of state for public affairs James Rubin, former Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti and many more
The Economist together with Hazlis & Rivas and are the lead organisers of the Mediterranean Leadership Summit which is taking place here in Malta on 28th and 29thApril. The co-organiser is CountryProfiler. The Malta Independent is a media partner
“Less integration than in the past is visible in Member states. The pace of integration as measured by trade integration has regressed,” Monti explained.
He mentioned China and Russia. “The task of caring about integration projects and looking long-term, China is just about the only country which looks long-term in the formulation of its policies”.
Russia and China are, in a sense, the new integrators.
In our part of the world, which does include the EU and the USA in the Mediterranean Basin, integration is suffering. In the EU’s case, disintegration might be a concrete risk and I fear, not so much disintegration through separation, but rather through implosion”.
“Disintegration by implosion would result in disintegration from growing mutual acrimony from people and the establishment with each national government driven by short-term incentives by the transformation of political leaders to follows whose main ambition is to influence, not the next election, but the weekly public opinion poll”.
“In terms of the EU, our leaders go to Brussels and supposedly take decisions in the EU Council in the common EU interest, which I believe they might even believe they are doing. In fact, however, they are driven, in many cases, not by national interest, but rather by explicitly stated party-political or personal-political objectives purely in terms of the domestic concept".
"After WW2, we had a virtual circle between two concepts - democracy and integration - with integration driving the advent and consolidation of many formerly non-democratic countries into the process like Spain, central and eastern EU countries".
He said that integration is the pre-destined victim of all protectionist speeches that can shock the audience with ten second slogans, while pro-integration requires longer explanations and thus are not politically popular. He said that the task at hand is to save our democracies from impotence and mistrust, and as a derivative save the integration process,” and if not our democracies will be more shaky, we could lose democracy and integration”.
President Marie Louise Coleiro Preca said today that those who do not serve well, cannot hope to lead well. She highlighted the ties between unrest and economic problems.
"Unless our plans for the sustainable economy transformation are rooted in respect for human dignity and oriented towards the resilience of the most vulnerable, then they are doomed to fail".
"Unless we serve others with the greater good in mindm then we have no business making decisions on their behalf".
President Marie Louise Coleiro Preca said that radicalisation is a growing threat for everyone, adding that economies must be built simultaneously with the wellbeing od society.
She delivered the opening speech at the summit.
"We must recognise that we cannot improve local economies unless we invest in strategies to reduce precariousness regionally and globally".
We cannot neglect rising levels of poverty, she said, adding that their effects are borne by everyone.
"In lower income countries, economic instability is not just a matter of high unemployment, but also the breakdown of community and societies".
"War increases poverty and destroys infrastructure, institutions and stability of entire regions. Poverty leads people to become excluded from the economy".
It should be everyone's business to work with vulnerable communities, she said, stressing the need to work together and listen in order to achieve economic prosperity
She spoke of the need to ensure new entrants to the labour force are attributed equal opportunities.
The President mentioned child benefits in Malta, "which was oriented towards the participation of the child in education and healthcare", mentioning that this resulted in a decline of poverty rates.
She also addressed the rise of female participation in the workforce, attributing this to free childcare and in-work benefits introduced on the island.
Former US assistant secretary of state for public affairs James Rubin said that if Donald Trump is elected, the phrase America First will be used prominently.
“It’s an idea that grew between WW1 and WW2, the idea of isolationism”.
He said that this resulted in the USA being side-lined for many years during the beginning of two world wars.
“I can only hope and pray that the USA people have a wiser view than Republican Party voters than the Republican Party for their nominee”.
Lord Ashdown of Norton-Sub-Hamdon said he is not confident in the June Brexit referendum despite that many polls saying the UK will remain in the EU. He said that the white working class has an utter determination, for all the wrong reasons, to vote against.
“The result will probably not turn on an opinion poll, but the fact that those in favour of leaving are more likely to vote than those who would not.
The consequences, he said, would most likely see a second Scottish referendum. That would result in the end of the UK, an end of the Union Jack and a little England, that would turn to isolation surrounded by all of Europe.
Another consequence, he said, is whether it would lead to a process of EU disintegration.
In the Mediterranean there are three major problems. The first is the rise of “Islamic jihad. What I see in the Middle East is not just the rise of an evil set of extremists, which Christianity has had before, but also matched by the engagement of the international community and matched with the collapse of Middle Eastern institution creates the possibility of a perfect storm. How do we solve it? I have no answer. A starting point, however, would be to put out the fires. Syria is the dominant fire.
The second issue is that of migration. This extraordinary event is not new. Down the ages we saw mass movements of people fleeing war and plague. Britain is a mongrel nation and London is a mongrel city, which is why it works in the world. Immigration will not go away. It will be one for the great strategic challenges of our time and we must have long term solutions and not just look at the short term
The this major issue, he said, is that “If you will not use humanity to solve this problem, you will be left using barbed wire that will end up in more conflict not less”.
“In the face of the challenges the EU faces, the lack of will worries me”.
Economics Professor of Middle Eastern Politics and information relations at the London School of Gergez Fawaz said that the reason why the Islamic State is dangerous is because they and other are trying to fill vacuums. “Not only a vacuum of security, but an institutional vacuum. It’s offering an alternative to the failed state system. This is why such groups are very dangerous. The first video released by the Islamic State was in 2014, after the capture of Mosul. In this video, ISIS said they are the vanguard to destroy the agreement that created the Middle-eastern borders. They said they were the only ones equipped to bring back Palestine and create an Islamic state identity”
He also said that Syria is important because of what it tells us about the shifts in noble configurations of forces. The USA is no longer as engaged, keeping a healthy distance from the Middle East. Syria is important as Russia is trying to fill this global vacuum of power.
Europe has greater stakes in the Middle East than Russia or the USA. “The reality is there is an umbilical chord between the two, as we have discovered in a hard way. We are talking a century since the making of the modern middle east there is a moral and political responsibility to think strategically. Nobody is talking about money, it’s a matter of leadership, creating a strategic blueprint to reconstruct state institutions and begin the process of reconciliation".
PN MP Francis Zammit Dimech said that the tragedy in the Mediterranean is not new. Each landing of migrants in any Mediterranean country is a reflection on the fate of thousands, fleeing in favour of a better way of life, often from war, civil strife and at the bare minimum as they want to live a life befitting of dignity.
“When they reach our shores, when they reach their destination, are they ending up in a better state or are they subjected to new forms of poverty?”
“A few weeks ago, I came across a book by the Dean of Law at the University of British Colombia called the new politics of immigration and the end of settler societies. She says that never before has hostility against immigrants been quite so widespread. It is now evident that the idea of a settler society is a thing of the past”.
"Let us address this issue from Malta’s perspective. Everything that Malta has learnt as regards migration over the last years has proven that this is not a transitory phase or a passing phenomenon. As long as there are people, there will be migration. Our challenge, and our thinking, needs to move from trying to "solve a problem" to how to best manage migration in the long-term in a humane, just and sustainable manner".
“In the EU Parliament, they are trying to look at the issue holistically and I believe that is happening at the Commission level. But this is not the attitude of most member states. Looking at the relocation programme, as to what is actually happening seeing but a few hundred relocated, then we have a long way to go”.
Ambassador for the Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean (UFM) George Saliba said that we (the Union for the Mediterranean) are a new organisation created in 2008, comprising of the member states of the EU as well as the 15 states on the Mediterranean. Our task is development, is job creation, is to have a better understanding between north and south. Migration is a problem of lack of development in the southern countries.
He said youth unemployment is the main issue faced by the Mediterranean. Tunisia is considered as the one successful Arab Spring country. The most ISIS recruits from Arab countries come from Tunisia. When asked why they choose to join, it’s because they have no future. Without employment we will continue to face such problems.
Without stability we cannot have development and can’t do much in conflict countries.
"We have provided our member states a new roadmap for UFM, as higher education, transport, environment, energy and climate change are not enough. The new challenges are there and are different. The UFM must look at migration and the new challenges. Looking at the Mediterranean, one important factor is religion. Today, the Pope speaks about mercy. When one looks at our Muslim friends, how do they start their prayers? In the name of God the most merciful. I cannot understand how ISIS, who say they are Muslim and are not, say in the name of God the most merciful right before they behead someone”.
"EU leaders cannot ignore the growing xenophobic sentiment which is growing. this is a problem, but migration has been ongoing for the past decade.EU leaders cannot ignore the growing xenophobic sentiment which is growing. this is a problem, but migration has been ongoing for the past decade. The only country that supported Italy to discuss new policy when we faced a problem, was Malta. The problem is we don’t have a unified policy. We need migrants and workers for pensions and social security, but we must do it in an organised way".
In response to questions, he said the only leader in Europe is Germany, and that the once Franco-Germin axis that existed, leading the EU, is no more.
UN Special representative of the Secretary General for International Migration Peter Sutherland addressed the conference via a video message. He said that Europe is facing a real challenge. “A year ago we had the dreadful drowning event from a trip taken by refugees from Libya to Italy, where 800 died. That appalling event created a global response. In Europe a recognition of a certain degree of responsibility was also seen”.
“Since then, he said, a number of developments have occurred, including an explosion of racist politics in Europe. We’ve seen a response to a massive human tragedy in Syria in particular which has been much less generous in various parts of Europe than one would have expected”.
“We have seen the erection of razor wire fences, the virtual collapse of Schengen and the re-erection of borders across Europe leading down through the route taken by desperate people escaping dreadful conditions in their countries. We have pushed back refugees and economic migrants. We have maintained a degree of responsibility on the part of countries which are close to the dreadful Syrian events. But why should Lebanon, Jordan, Greece, Italy and Malta carry a particular burden as they are geographically closer to the dreadful events in Syria. Why should there not be shared responsibility?”
“Why do we have a situation where the Turkey - Greece route is closing in a way which will simply redirect significant numbers of refugees to another route, and possibly back to the Libya route to Europe”, he asked..
“The failures are first of all, a failure to globalise the responsibility, or rather to share the responsibility in a reasonable manner. Why do Germany and Sweden take vast numbers of refugees whereas others refuse to take any. How can this be compatible with human solidarity?”
He spoke of the need for a common migration policy and a sharing responsibility which should not be defined by the proximity of the causative factors.
PL MEP Miriam Dalli, through a video message, said that the EU is facing the largest humanitarian crisis since WW2. All member states should have come together and shown responsibility and burden sharing, instead different member states are taking their own initiatives. He said that millions of refugees are fleeing and violence is occurring just a few kilometres away from Europe’s shores.
She spoke of the need to put an end to criminal networks. She also spoke of the need to address the humanitarian crisis.
“We require realistic asylum policies that can work, and true solidarity among all EU states, coupled with cooperation and aid”.
She spoke of the African and Middle Eastern regions as areas where further economic cooperation could occur.
Malta’s Economy Minister, Chris Cardona, said that “our common goals can bring us closer together. Following WW2, the EU’s founding fathers brought economic and social integration. Strong political leadership and willingness to sit around a table and dismantle cross border tariffs occurred”.
“The Mediterranean is going through challenging times, with economic meltdowns, wars etc.”
He said Mediterranean nations need to take decisions together for a better future. Only this, he explained, will lead to peace and prosperity. “Economic integration remains low and intra Mediterranean trade exchanges are below their need”.
He called for stronger economic cooperation between the EU and Maghreb countries. “Job creation will lead to peace, he said, adding a prosperous Mediterranean region is important for the future of Europe”.
“Tariff and non-tariff barriers remain high,” he said.
He spoke of the need for more south-south Mediterranean economic focus.
Malta’s role, he said, is to capitalise on the strategic position and act as a buffer between the regions. The Euromed region is one where Malta can expand relations. “When it comes to Foreign direct investment, there is room for improvement”.
“Global companies are drawn by growth and investment opportunities, but instability and lack of transparency remain the top concerns”.
“The region has the potential to be a home to more than 750 million people in the near future”.
“Political stability is the strongest message the region can have and Malta has been the ideal base for companies wanting to explore North Africa”.
He said investors are worried about lacking infrastructure in some countries. The world’s economic centre of gravity is shifting East. The Middle East will become more of a gateway to Asia and increased economic ties with Middle Eastern countries should improve further.
Douglas Lippoldt, a senior trade economist, said that service trade only accounts for 25% of global trade and there is a lot of potential there for the Mediterranean.
During the financial crisis, the services sector only witnessed half the decline that merchandise trade faced.
He said that there has been some energy in the developed economies, expanding by 2% per year and 4% per year in the emergent markets.
He said that World Bank stocktaking in 2012 found countries like in the Med region began to tackle certain challenges. “Liberalisation of services matters to the region for manufacturing. A 3rd of value added for manufacturing comes from services input, he said.
Around 15% of manufactured exports come from imported services feeding into the manufacturing process.
Open economies grow faster than closed economies, and the liberalisation of services sectors contributes this, he said.
Jean Faivre, area vice president for Hilton worldwide, said he has seen the government in Malta invest in the country and that millions of euros expected to be invested in the airport in the coming years.
He believes economic integration in the region can come about by investing in interconnectivity. “Not just infrastructure, but visa reform as well”.
“I commend Malta for re-joining the Schengen agreement earlier this year. We call on the EU to consider the negative impact of the suspension of the visa waiver for travellers coming from the USA and Canada”.
He said that the Hilton is really making use of online, partnering with airlines, Uber and railways to make tourists’ stay easier.
He said that cross regional connectivity brings above investment in sustained growth. Hospitality, he said, is responsible for one in 11 jobs globally.
Nasser Saidi, Former Lebanon Economy Minister, said that countries in the Southern Neighbourhood are going through a period of sweeping changes, rooted in numerous factors, among which are the stalling of economic growth and high unemployment. Heexplained that the situation is exacerbated by significant infrastructure gaps which both hamper competitiveness and frustrate citizens with poor services. An acceleration in infrastructure investment is needed to address these gaps..
He said that stronger attention must be paid to the sustainability of infrastructure investments and the quality of the services they provide to citizens. He mentioned that it is estimated that to close infrastructure gaps in the Mediterranean region by 2020 are estimated at almost EUR 23 billion per annum.
Reconstruction expenditure for Syria and Libya would cost half a Trillion dollars, he said
Investment in infrastructure drives international and domestic integration, he stressed.
Mediterranean infrastructure investment has potential to change economic geography and are a growth lifting strategy, he said
If Europe does not move into the Mediterranean, then the Mediterranean will move into Europe
Finance Minister Edward Scicluna said that the incidence of armed conflict has increased over the past years.” Ongoing events in North Africa can heighten international tensions, affecting trade and tourism. Europe at the same time is facing testing challenges of unprecedented flows of refugees and threatening EU governance”.
“After eight years of struggling with the aftermath of the financial crisis, this was followed by the national debt crisis brought about a number of bailouts. The EU has very little to show for that in terms of success”.
“We have had a very poor show. This, in spite of a raft of economic regulations we have enacted in the Parliament and the Council month after month over the past eight years”.
He said that despite mechanisms introduced by the EU, the US has still outgrown the EU.
“Big companies are flushed with money but no appetite as to where to invest”. He spoke about the Juncker Plan, saying that it still needs to show results.
“Where does this leave this region? We have a population of 255 million on middle-income and around the time of the Arab Spring it had a young and well-educated population”.
He compared the Eastern European countries after the soviet break-up and the Mena countries. “Both are considered emerging, but eastern EU countries had clear targets to join the EU. They embraced liberal markets and started aggressively privatisation processes. They also had a specialised well focussed development bank.”
“The Middle East and North Africa region has its economic peculiarities. We’ve always spoken about a Mediterranean development bank. There is high youth unemployment, lethargic bureaucracies haven’t changed and the lack of regional connectivity. Rabat Malta to Rabat Morocco takes 14 hours. We are so close yet so far. We need a completely focussed development bank ready to handhold massive projects all the way, a bank that handles peer reviews specifically for the region etc”.
Photos by Jonathan Borg