Having joined the European Union in 2004, by now we have started to get a real taste of the good and the bad of this reality. Having said this, there is no doubt in my mind that there is still a lot of hard work ahead of us, if we truly want this country to progress and to maximise all the opportunities that this new reality offers, while at the same time mitigate the inevitable negative aspects.

It is with this in mind that I am embarking upon this new challenge in my political life. Having for the past four years represented Malta on the Committee of the Regions of the European Union, I have come to learn that the best results are achieved through networking and coalition building with other politicians from the other member states. This experience, particularly given the current economic crisis that has engulfed us all, has taught me that well and truly in this day and age no one can go it alone, and that it is in our collective best interest to cooperate with one another and strive as much as possible to seek common solutions to the problems facing us all.

Together with my colleagues in the Labour Party, I am contesting this election on the basis of the platform set by the Party of European Socialists under the banner “People First”. It is a platform with which I am at one for as I believe that in everything we do we need to put people’s interests first. It is also because of this that I believe that it is wrong to cut the umbilical cord that exists between the economic and social spheres.

I believe that the economy is there for the service of the people, and not the people for the service of the economy. The current international economic crisis is putting paid to all those philosophies which glorified the false god of a free market.

If we truly want the best interest of the people, we need to do all that is within our power to stop those who, for their often hidden interests, want to take our societies back to a time where the economy was a free for all, where the law of the jungle determined who moved forward and who was left behind, to a time, allow me to say, of Charles Dickens and the poor houses.

We, the people, deserve better. It is because of this that I have no hesitation in stating that we should aspire for a stronger voice in Europe. For far too long we have allowed faceless bureaucrats in Brussels and/or our national capitals to take decisions behind our back. We must ensure a greater degree of transparency and accountability because every decision, from the big policy plans to the smallest of regulations, affects our lives directly. Brussels can no longer remain out of the people’s reach.

We need to make sure that the issues that are truly on the people’s mind are being addressed all the time by the European institutions. Such issues as jobs, health care, education, a clean and safe environment within which to raise our children, need to be put at the top of the European political agenda. We need to move away from the grand designs and embark upon feasible projects which will make a direct positive impact upon people’s lives.

My pledge is that, if elected, through my work within the European Parliament, in tandem with the representatives forming part of the European Socialist family, I will strive to ensure that these issues are brought to the fore and that adequate measures are taken to ensure that European legislation is not allowed to be abused by those who seek to maximise their levels of profitability at the expense of workers. It is my belief that if we truly believe in an internal market, the status quo is no longer acceptable. We need to strive to ensure that any European worker employed in another member state is so employed in accordance with the same rights and conditions as those pertaining to the local employees. Only in this way can there be a truly competitive market thus eliminating any possibility of abuse.

My commitment is quite clear. It is one based on the premise that in everything I do, I pledge to put the people first. It is a philosophy which is based on the understanding that politics is a service to the people, who ultimately are the true owners of any democratic state.



Claudette Abela Baldacchino is PL Candidate for EU Parliament Elections

info@claudetteabelabaldacchino.eu