The 27 European Union leaders gave permission to proceed in the creation of a “Union for the Mediterranean”. A project that will affect Malta directly, not only as an EU member state but also as an island geographically positioned in the middle of the Mediterranean.
This proposal for the formation of the Mediterranean Union is being given importance since it may serve as a renewal for the Barcelona Process. The Process of 1995 that was signed in the Spanish city is the current mechanism that covers relations between the European Union and the MEDA countries.
The proposal made by French President Nicholas Sarkozy must be given very serious consideration. Malta has always worked hard in EU-Mediterranean politics. Former Maltese Foreign Minister, later President, Guido de Marco was amongst the first to suggest such a collaboration agreement.
President Emeritus Guido de Marco, at the Malaga First Inter-Parliamentary Conference on Security and Cooperation in the Mediterranean, and later, in 1995, at the Valletta Second Inter-Parliamentary Conference, had called for the setting up of an Association of Mediterranean States in the shape of a Council of the Mediterranean with a Ministerial and a Parliamentary dimension.
Since the very beginning of the Euromed partnership, President Emeritus Prof. Guido de Marco, was a main contributor to the process. Holding firm on his belief that there will not be peace in the Mediterranean if there is no peace in Europe and that there will be no peace in Europe if there is no peace in the Mediterranean, he met with various leaders to spread his vision for growth within the region.
According to the news website www.euroactiv.com, the focus of the new union will be on the following areas:
• Improving energy supply;
• fighting pollution in the Mediterranean;
• strengthening the surveillance of maritime traffic and “civil security cooperation”;
• setting up a Mediterranean Erasmus exchange programme for students, and;
• creating a scientific community between Europe and its southern neighbours.
Malta’s role in Mediterranean politics has been enhanced thanks to the hosting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean last year. The meeting also marked the official opening of the Secretariat of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean that will be based in Malta. The offices will be situated at Palazzo Spinola in St Julian’s.
Time has come to promote our country as the cultural crossroads and propose ideas that will put Malta upfront of the regional development. We should not be afraid of taking such a position since we have the necessary abilities and experiences to handle such a task.
Our country cannot disassociate itself from developments taking place in the Mediterranean region. Malta’s voicing the Mediterranean voice goes back to 1975, when thanks to Malta’s perseverance the Mediterranean chapter in the Helsinki Final Act of the then CSCE was included.
The European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs also recognises Malta’s important contribution in the region, where in a suggestion made last year to the Committee on International Trade in its motion for a resolution of the Construction of the Euro – Med Free Trade Zone, Malta was proposed as a bridge between Europe and North Africa.
The EPP-ED, political group I form part of, also recognises the importance of the Mediterranean region. Following the EuroMed parliamentary assembly held in Tunis, the EPP-ED MEPs met the EuroMed Parliamentarians to discuss topics such as a Euro-Med Free Trade Area and nominated political ambassadors for each country in the southern Mediterranean basin. The ambassadors will act as contact persons for the EPP-ED group in the individual Mediterranean states.
The growth of the Mediterranean region would mean growth for our country. It is of utmost importance that we take the opportunities that will be presented to us and seek possibilities for further developing our country as a major player within the region.
This abides with the Nationalist Party proposals made in the electoral programme 2008. The suggestions made, (page 71, 340 to 343), state that Malta must continue to strive in its work by promoting the Mediterranean at EU levels. This should be done by promoting peace in the Middle East, protecting the Mediterranean environment and promoting trade in the region.
We must continue building on what we already achieved, active participation as
a Mediterranean country
forming part of the European family. Our geographical position makes us a natural hub between Europe and our southern neighbours; we must consolidate this role and transform it into a role of political relevance.
The growth of the Mediterranean region would mean growth for our country. It is of utmost importance that we take the opportunities that will be presented to us and seek possibilities for further developing our country as a major player within the region.
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