In order to make certain that I would not mislead anybody, I have made only one promise – that I will do my best to inform our citizens not only of what is cooking in the EU, but whether the dish would be to our taste or not.

Had there been one single MEP to inform the Maltese public about the possible repercussions of the Lisbon Treaty, it might not have been so easy for both parties in government to ratify it out of sight of the people they represent.

But back to the title. There are important proposals being discussed at EU level. One deals with the danger, or otherwise, that mobile antennas present to the public. Another deals with cross-border health services. Now I have argued in the press that one main deficit the average Maltese citizen is suffering from is lack of knowledge about how the EU Parliament works and what is actually going on in all areas and not only in those of specific interest to the government of the day. It took this campaign for people to learn about the voting patters of our two groups of MEPs, with allegations coming to the surface that what some MEPs say and do in Europe can be very different from what they say and do here. This is only possible because for the majority of our citizens there is hardly any way of finding out what happens “over there”, for not everybody is inclined, or has the necessary computer know-how or the time, to spend hours tracing events in the European Parliament.

The idea behind the cross-border health treatment is that, if their national health provider has let them down with a poor or delayed service, all EU citizens will have the right to seek treatment anywhere in the EU and claim reimbursement from their home countries under certain circumstances. Patients can seek non-hospital care, such as dental treatment and medical consultations, without prior authorisation. However, prior authorisation is required for in-patient procedures such as surgery.

The final report was delivered by MEP John Bowis (EPP-ED). This proposal was adopted on 21 March by the Parliament's environment, public health and food safety committee (ENVI) but without the support of the Socialist group or that of the Greens. The Socialists called a hastily-convened five-minute recess and decided to abstain from the final vote, despite being broadly favourable to the proposal.

One of their fears is that, as worded, the proposal would be mainly to the benefit of the rich. Another fear, expressed by Cypriot MEP Adamos Adamour of the GUE/NGL group is that, if passed, "this directive will lead to the deconstruction of the national healthcare systems and will incite patients to go abroad for healthcare. Healthcare is and should remain the responsibility of the member states.”

On the other hand, Dutch liberal MEP Jules Maaten (ALDE) stated that "it is incredible that none of the groups on the left supported this, when finally we get European legislation that benefits the European citizen in a concrete way. These groups put national health bureaucracies before patients' rights. This is not about liberalisation, but about free movement of patients. The directive will not interfere in the way national healthcare systems are organised. I am surprised that other parties are playing political games on the back of European patients," he said. The proposal will be submitted to the full house for a vote on 21-24 April.

And there you have it. In the EU, different proposals attract different support which is continually shifting across the groups allied together in Parliament. Even the composition of these groups changes all the time. And that is not the end of the story either, for in the Council of Ministers, national health ministers are concerned that the move could lead to an erosion of sovereignty and could play havoc with how health services are planned, funded and delivered across Europe.

This is the system that the EU citizen will eventually have to master if he is to keep abreast of events. Until then, he has to rely on what his own MEPs tell him and what the media reports. And that is another problem in Malta.

Dr Josie Muscat is Azzjoni Nazzjonali leader and candidate for MEP elections