Malta formed part of a group of 10 nations that joined the European Union on 1 May 2004. Now, almost three years later, we are going to see the induction of two new members, Romania and Bulgaria.

These two nations are two more former Iron Curtain countries that have made progress in leaps and bounds since their former dictatorships were overthrown and are both experiencing booms, especially in the property market, since they have removed all trading barriers.

Yet, they still have much to do. We only need to look at our own tiny island nation to see how far they have yet to go.

Both nations lack skilled workers, and infrastructure systems (especially in relation to ICT) lag quite far behind EU averages.

Unfortunately, the EU is not the instant cure that many imagine it to be. Even before membership, laws have to be transposed and then countries have to meet all the entry criteria (we only have to think of our own deficit to know what that means).

But the hardest comes next – using the EU to full advantage to obtain funding and grants, as well as to stimulate the economy in the hope of bringing countries up to the average European standard of living.

Malta has not fared too badly, and is consistently at the top end of the “new” EU-10 figures. The Czech Republic, for example, seems to go from strength to strength. But other nations, such as Poland and Latvia, struggle to meet the demands that come with EU membership.

Further enlargement of the EU will no doubt push European average figures down. But this is where the new members have to pull their socks up.

Malta was very lucky in securing Objective 1 Status for the budgetary period 2007-2013 and the way things are going, we should maximise every cent of funding we can.

By 2013, Malta will have moved on and improved its standard of living.

We will have tried to have spent euros805 million on capital projects, farming initiatives, green initiatives and more. The government is telling us that figures for foreign direct investment are at a record high and the trend is expected to continue.

If we look at this in black and white, we have seven years in which to maximise our efforts – we can be sure that we will never receive this amount of funding again, going by current trends.

Romania and Bulgaria will (as we have done) milk the cow for all it is worth. We also have the upcoming membership of Croatia to consider, as well as the problematic bid by Turkey.

Apart from its problems with human rights abuse, and the never-ending wrangle over blockades to and from both parts of Cyprus, Turkey has other problems. It has massive unemployment, when compared with the EU, wages are very low and standards of education and – perhaps more of a hot potato – farming, are cause for concern.

This will be a severe drain on the EU and if this Muslim country does ever join, there is no doubt that the EU will leave no stone unturned in efforts to improve its performance.

In this country, we have always spoken of “doing an Ireland”. While we agree with this to a certain extent, we should look beyond to “pulling off a Malta”.

We have one chance at this. We are, to a certain extent, the darlings of Europe, so let us make the most of the fact and ensure that our country reaps the benefits of what has been sown.