Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi arrived triumphant in Brussels yesterday afternoon – in the immediate wake of a gruelling five-week, successful electoral campaign – to congratulations from his European counterparts for the first day of an informal summit of European leaders.
And the summit’s timing could not have been better, coming as it has, just in the aftermath of a campaign hinged largely on the merits of Malta’s EU accession, which took place against the opposition’s advice, and the future of Malta within the EU dimension.
Speaking yesterday, Dr Gonzi commented he had received face-to-face congratulations on his electoral victory from colleagues such as Gordon Brown, Romano Prodi and José Manuel Durao Barroso.
Accompanying Dr Gonzi yesterday, and today, is Tonio Borg in his new capacity as foreign minister and Tonio Fenech in his new role as finance, economy and investment minister. Both were sworn in as ministers on Wednesday evening before leaving for Brussels on Thursday.
Foreign ministers traditionally accompany heads of government to EU Council meetings, while the spring Council usually applies a focus to economic and financial manners, rendering Mr Fenech’s presence essential.
Speaking to journalists last night Dr Gonzi added how a number of issues of importance to Malta were on the table at the two-day meeting, including the Lisbon Strategy for economic growth and jobs – or more and better jobs, as Dr Gonzi likes to put it – where Malta has registered “substantial progress” in increasing labour market participation, although challenges were still present and a lot more needed to be done in the area.
Recent incentives such as those encouraging more women into the workplace were precisely in line with EU-wide policies for reaching the Lisbon Strategy targets, he said.
The Mediterranean Union concept being floated by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, was a subject Malta is “very interested in, and where Malta has an important role to play”.
Similarly important are the EU’s focus on the security of its energy supply, with Malta preparing to plug into the European energy grid and the increased use of alternative energies. The EU, Dr Gonzi said, faces particular challenges in the form of the supply of natural gas from Russia, Iran and other producing nations.
No strategic decision in the area had been taken by EU leaders as of last night, Dr Gonzi said, but the thrust of the discussion was centred on securing a stable supply and stable prices for the increasingly precious commodity.
This week’s summit will provide a stark contrast to the last few gatherings of EU leaders, which had focused on ironing out the hard-fought Reform Treaty, wrapped up and signed in Lisbon in December. Foremost for Malta, the Reform Treaty has provided the country with its additional and long sought after sixth seat in the European Parliament as from 2009.
Also under discussion is French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s proposal for the establishment of a Mediterranean Union, which has been backed by Italy and Spain. Malta is also backing the concept, which had been first floated by former foreign minister Guido de Marco as far back as 1995.
Energy policy security and climate change, as well as the beginning of the Lisbon Strategy’s second cycle, 2008-2010, are also top of the agenda, while finance ministers will focus their attention on the stability of European and international financial markets.
In terms of the Lisbon Strategy, EU leaders are to formulate the so-called fifth freedom, the free movement of knowledge, and stress the importance of creativity and that of small and medium sized enterprises in the development of the European economy – a point crucial for Malta, in that a good 98 per cent of Malta’s economy is comprised of SME activity. Special attention will also be given to the concept of flexicurity within the Lisbon Agenda’s social dimension.
In terms of the inextricably linked issues of energy and climate change, the European Council is expected to set out political guidelines on the development of a legislative package in the area, as well as setting timelines for such a package’s adoption.
Finance ministers will also pay heed to the recent significant price hikes for food and energy, spurred by increases in the international prices of cereals and oil, and request the Council to identify the driving forces behind commodity and food prices and to pursue policies that remove the possibility of further supply limitations.
The informal summit, which sees EU leaders gathering for the first time since Slovenia assumed the EU presidency in January, will also see the presentation of a report on the security implications of climate change, which is expected to highlight that the risks posed by climate change are real and that the impacts are already evident – in terms of both humanitarian issues, as well as political and security risks. These include potential conflicts over resources and, of concern to Malta, economic damage to coastal regions, critical infrastructures, loss of territory to rising sea levels and environmentally-induced migration.