We all celebrated, last week, an interesting milestone, which is the fifth anniversary of Malta’s membership in the EU. During these days a lot of analysis was done on the last five years. Time passes by fast. Further analysis should be discussed at today’s national conference on EU membership.

I have been thinking a lot about the last five years, and it’s also a frequent topic of discussion with my constituents, among other people I meet. Feedback is generally positive, although I receive a few complaints as well. Through these discussions and conversations, I feel that misinformation about the EU is quite abundant. I also wonder whether five years are enough to assess Malta’s membership in the EU. The EU campaign is still fresh in our minds, and unfortunately most people in Malta still discuss the EU with that frame of mind.

Looking at other countries, and speaking with other Europeans, one realises that although each country has its own specific circumstances, generally EU membership should be assessed objectively after a much longer timespan, say 10 to 15 years. Spain and Ireland, two countries that have benefited substantially from EU membership, started to experience tangible benefits later in the day.

I feel that currently Malta is still going through a learning phase. EU institutions and mechanism are quite complex. Knowledge of these institutions needs to be built up over time. We need to obtain deeper acquaintance of the EU institutions, whereby at the same time our presence needs to be constantly fed. Reputation is built slowly and patiently over time. The same thing applies to the main benefits of EU membership. These increase exponentially over time. The most important aspect is not to interrupt the momentum.

One needs to distinguish between macro benefits, or the big picture, and micro benefits, or the tangible benefits that the main in the street can experience. Most of the people I meet are quite impatient, and at times rightly so. They admit that EU membership has been beneficial for Malta, but their expectation is much higher than that. While it is positive to have high expectations, one also needs to be realistic. Five years are really a short period when you consider the number of years other countries have been in the EU.

As we have seen in the last years, the EU has given Malta stability and a direction. We are now members of a stable economic bloc. This concept alone is a huge positive factor that leads to immense indirect benefits. The foreign direct investment boost of the last years is a direct result of these. Non EU investors are keen to set foot in the EU, with a market of 500 million people. Malta is on the economic map for these investors. Membership alone has boosted our credit rating, since our outlook is now positive. This is one of the benefits that the man in the street might not experience directly, but operators in the various sectors of the economy feel. And we joined just in time as well. Can you ever imagine what would have happened to Malta had we not joined the EU in the current global crisis. Entire countries are being wiped out. Iceland is a case in point. The MLP used to boost so much of the fact that Iceland did not form part of the EU. They never mention Iceland again these days. The new Prime Minister of Iceland has recently declared, after winning the elections, that her government is willing to start negotiations with the EU. One of the greatest benefits has been this stability, direction, improved credit rating. Key sectors like the financial sector has benefited greatly from this stability.

Other benefits that are slightly more apparent include the opportunities for our youth. They face a market of 27 countries, and they form part of a population of 500 million. They are free to look out for opportunities and widen their horizons. A lot of youth took advantage of these opportunities and good luck to them. We can no longer remain an insular island, cut off from the real world. We have horrible memories of such years. The youth are our future. It will take more than one generation for people to expand their horizons, but our youth have adapted quickly to the new reality, and that’s a very positive sign.

Another significant test was Malta’s adoption of the euro. It’s amazing how the Maltese adapted quickly to the new currency. There were no major hiccups and the introduction of the euro was seamless when compared to neighbouring countries.

Other tangible benefits include the funding that Malta has obtained. Apart from the e855 + million, Maltese institutions can also benefit from other programmes. It takes time to get acquainted with the system. Today certain projects in Malta are feasible, thanks to the funding from the EU. Some of these projects have been on the back burner for a number of years.

One of the major advantages that the people might not immediately realise is an advantage was the restructure of the Maltese economy. Some of the reforms were painful but necessary. It is only unfortunate that the Labour Party tried to put spooks in the wheel along the way, and maintained its anti EU stance by spreading misinformation about the EU while the restructuring was going on. Some people might see these reforms as too painful and negative, but in the long term the Maltese economy will benefit from all these reforms.

People obviously expect more. Most people want to see more tangible results, such as improved quality of the roads. Other people are not used to the regulations of the EU, especially when it concerns discipline. We could not maintain our laisser-faire attitude in various sectors. It’s hard to instil discipline. When I speak with people I realise that misinformation on the EU is still widespread in Malta. Unfortunately this misinformation is also spread around by politicians who still feel that Malta does not belong to the EU, and are only intersected in the less positive aspects, to come and glee with the usual “I told you so”. There is a tendency to blame everything on the EU, even in cases where it concerns only local issues. To be honest this happens in other countries as well. There is a tendency for politicians, feeling their backs against the wall, to quickly blame the EU.

In the meantime, more countries have applied to join the EU. At the moment five countries are going through discussions with the EU or their application is being assessed. We need to ask ourselves, what if we stayed out of the EU! Where would Malta be in the current international crisis outside the EU?

David Agius is the Nationalist Party whip