By David Stellini and Carm Mifsud Bonnici

Over the past months we heard the news that the Maltese Government has formally bid to host the European Medicines Agency. The seat of this agency is currently located in Canary Wharf, London, however in view of the United Kingdom's looming withdrawal from the European Union, alternative premises need to be found in another EU country.

This of course is a positive move, and has rightly been endorsed by local stakeholders. In fact, if at the end of the day it is successful, this will surely add further to the positive experience we have witnessed through our hosting of the European Asylum Support Office since 2011, with the difference that in the case of the Medicines Agency, this could be on a much larger scale, given that the agency's remit and the current state of its employees.

This is all well and good, however if this government intends to limit Malta's reaction to Brexit to this bid, to which Parliamentary Secretary Deo Debattista has already likened it to a new David fighting a good number of other Goliaths due to the fact that 19 other Member States are also running for this seat, we are bound to be left disappointed. 

You may recall that soon after the UK's Brexit referendum result was announced, Prime Minister Muscat was quick to give the impression that Malta was well-prepared for such a scenario, stating that his government had commissioned a number of specialised studies in various sectors projecting such an eventuality and consequently put our minds at rest that the necessary plans were in place. On this basis, the Prime Minister announced that although Brexit wasn't something to look forward to, there are opportunities to which we can benefit from.  

Unfortunately, so far, reality does not give testament to the comments our Prime Minister gave last March.  The only good news we had was that a number of large multinational companies were considering relocating to Malta from the UK post-Brexit, only to have this quashed a few days later with the news that yet another Member State was preferred and had been selected instead

We must keep in mind that according to the IMF Country Report No. 16/169, dated June 2016, the value of all Maltese imports from the UK is equivalent to 27.3% (made up of 21.1% from services and 6.2% from goods) of the country's GDP - the highest for any EU Member State.

As a former colony and as part of the Commonwealth, Malta has forged deep links with the United Kingdom across numerous sectors, most clearly manifested in tourism and education. British universities are the most frequented among Maltese students seeking further education, however Brexit could well spell the end to this should the reduced tuition fees enjoyed by EU citizens in UK universities cease. The Maltese tourism industry is also somewhat dependant on the UK market and a drop in the value of the Sterling is likely to lead to unpleasant consequences there too.

Malta's links with the United Kingdom were further developed with EU membership where Malta found a long established and influential partner when sitting around the Council's table. Our interrelated history invariably led us share certain positions on EU matters and therefore obtained a stronger voice on those crucial matters to us. Like Malta, the United Kingdom had opposed any expansion of the EU's powers in the area of taxation which would jeopardise the current tax regime employed in the financial services, ship registration and gaming sectors. Britain's departure from the EU will therefore see Malta losing a valuable ally as it resists efforts for tax harmonisation within the EU. With the Council's voting rules taking population size into consideration, this effect is further pronounced given the UK's large weighting.

Once again, though we were given the impression that the Maltese Government had a plan as to how to turn the sour prospects of Brexit into a sweet opportunity for our country,  it is unfortunately getting clearer by the day that this was just another artificial instance of the Government's communication machine playing to the gallery.

MP David Stellini is Opposition spokesperson on European Affairs, including Brexit

MP Carm Mifsud Bonnici is Opposition spokesperson on international affairs and trade