Politics can help those who cannot help themselves and especially the most vulnerable, said MEP David Casa in a discussion open to the public at the House of Europe in Valletta on Friday.
He outlined his work as an MEP over the last five years and also during the twenty years he has been a Member of the European Parliament, since Malta joined the European Union in 2004.
“The best thing I did is the Work-Life Balance Directive,” he said when asked by moderator Claire Agius Ordway, “for the father for whom the best day in life is that of the birth of his child, now, instead of having just one day, he has ten days with that new-born child”. He explained how this European law, on which he led the work in the European Parliament, introduced minimum standards throughout Europe, including Malta, which give more rights to parents and carers, as well as a right for workers to request flexible arrangements.
The European Union Social Fund, which MEP Casa was also rapporteur for the EP, is today also being used in Malta to help students take O-level exams, aid that did not exist before joining the EU.
He also mentioned the Social Climate Fund, on which he was co-rapporteur, which is intended not only to help vulnerable people in the climate transition, but also to do so in a sustainable manner, and “to help the elderly not only pay the electricity bill but to have access to other types of energies to reduce that electricity bill” he said, explaining that this Fund helps people, SMEs and employers of fewer than 10 people, to have solar panels, better insulation, and non-polluting cars.
He also insisted on the fact that membership in the European Union means not only funds, but also the protection of democracy, rights and freedom. On the rule of law, he said that he sought and found the help of the European Parliament in putting pressure to help the country and that this work is being done in the EP also on other countries including Hungary and Poland.
Asked about abortion, he insisted that only the Maltese Parliament can introduce abortion in the country. He also spoke about media freedom, the Prize for Journalism named after Daphne Caruana Galizia awarded each year by the European Parliament that he worked to introduce when he was elected EP Quaestor, and the directive that the European Union now has against SLAPP cases.
He also highlighted the EU Disability Card, on which a vote in the European Parliament is foreseen in two weeks’ time. It is intended to grant a status to persons with disabilities recognised across the EU. All benefits and information available to a person with disabilities who are nationals of an EU country should be made accessible to nationals of other EU countries who move to that country.
He also stressed the importance of voting in the European elections, and he also mentioned the joint work of all current MEPs in most of the EP’s work.