It hardly seems five minutes ago. All the endless procrastination and long drawn out political battles, the tense counting in the election hall and the subsequent scenes of jubilation all over Malta by those of the “yes” campaign; was is really just two years ago?
Yes, tomorrow will mark the second anniversary of Malta’s accession to the European Union, but things are somewhat different now.
It is fair to say that the EU honeymoon period is well and truly over. We rejoiced at being let into Europe – satisfying our European identity and our history, but for those who thought Europe was a magic wand, they were in for some surprises, among them the fact that things did not “change” on 1 May 2004.
As the old adage goes, there is no gain without pain. Unfortunately, as we have pointed out time and time again – we are a very spoilt people. We stamp our feet when we don’t get our way, then we look for someone else to blame for our situation.
It is a farcical notion when one thinks about it – but did the people of Malta really expect things to turn around overnight?
Did the people really think that our dusty, yet beloved, little island would become a Mediterranean utopia as from day one? Such thinking truly is beyond belief. Nothing changes overnight. People say that we should be feeling the benefits of EU membership by now and they are of course correct. But should we not also be feeling the pinches?
We hear of the success stories of Ireland, Greece, Portugal and other countries that used to play a small role – yet now are at the forefront of European Union development. Yes, they are - but the public should go and ask any Irishman or Portuguese whether their countries had to sacrifice to get where they are now. The answer will be a resounding “Yes”.
If we put things into perspective, we would notice that we have only had limited pre-accession funding as well as a partial budget till the end of this year. With that, we have managed to start restructuring the country. Well maybe not completely, but things are moving.
The important role that the government has in this regard is to manage the flow. A boom in economy is a fantastic thing, but to let development run riot will not do either. One is not saying that it should be restricted, but rather like a military tactician, the authorities should re-evaluate their position in the “field” as often as possible. We live in a very volatile world and the key is to be aware, identify opportunities and threats, address them and once that process is complete – start it all over again.
The benefits will come. We have seen new investment rolling in, and we hear of something new every month. Just five years ago, would people have imagined that they could travel within Europe without a passport? Did people imagine that decent roads that do not shatter their cars would appear? Did people imagine that Maghtab would close and that we would have a proper landfill? The answers would probably be “No”.
On the other hand, did people realise that they would be up against stiff competition? Did they realise what the real world is all about? Did the people realise that to reap the benefits they would have to till the soil even more? Again, the answer is “No”.
As said before, there is no gain without pain and we must learn to live this concept. The benefits will come – but we must work hard to achieve them. Once Malta gets the bounce up the ladder, which it needs, through the next EU budget, it will become a much better place.
But we must all roll up our sleeves.