David Casa – PN

What more can the EU do to help bring down current high levels of unemployment?

High levels of unemployment are a common challenge for numerous member states. The EU can prove to be an essential actor in this field, especially by bringing in new frameworks and initiatives which combat unemployment across the EU. More specific EU measures, such as those intended to enhance the compatibility between job requirements and labour skills, can also be introduced to address the situation. In fact, when I was responsible for the Opinion on the Retail Action plan, addressing the mismatch between skills and job requirements in the sector, it was considered a priority. The role of the EU in this field can be pivotal especially if the EU enhances its efforts to facilitate the free movement of persons. This is one of the EU’s fundamental freedoms and it allows persons from one member state to fill a vacancy in another member state. When it comes to youth unemployment, which is also a sensitive EU issue, the EU can provide successful measures, like the Youth Guarantee and the Youth Employment initiative, which helps young people in gaining work experience. Strengthening educational programmes, like Erasmus, can also prove to be an effective measure. Furthermore, the EU also provides the necessary setting for sharing of best practice. 

What should the EU be doing to help businesses generally?

The EU can find innovative ways how to further unlock the great potential that lies in the internal market, a subject on which many of the Reports and Opinions I have been responsible for were based in the last five years. When drafting any form of legislation, I deem it crucial for the EU to always keep in mind the needs of SMEs and take into account their limitations. Thus, avoiding red tape and bureaucracy should always remain a priority. SMEs have a crucial role in the EU since they generate the bulk of economic performance within the single market. With its commitment, the EU can provide the necessary frameworks where SMEs can prosper not only within the internal market but also at an international level. Funding is probably the most effective and direct of all measures which help businesses in Europe. However, measures such as the European Small Business Portalare very useful in providing entrepreneurs and SMEs with the guidance they need. Also, having a one-stop-shop such as the Enterprise Europe Network is a crucial tool which helps businesses to develop further. It is important that such tools are strengthened and that SMEs and entrepreneurs are aware of the opportunities the EU offers. 

Are there any areas, in particular, where you feel Maltese interests needprotecting?

Due to their contribution to the Maltese economy, the financial services market and the online gambling sector are two important areas that need protection. As a MalteseMEP, I must always make sure that Malta’s interests in these sectors are safeguarded atan EU level. 

The EU and the USA are in the process of negotiating the Transatlantic Trade andInvestment Partnership. Is this something you support and do you have any reservationsabout the benefits of this free trade agreement?

The TTIP agreement holds numerous benefits and opportunities. If applied effectively,this agreement can provide the necessary boost for the creation of jobs and flourishingof SMEs, it can be regarded as a deep and comprehensive agreement that can benefitthe EU economy. In fact, it is estimated that in one day EU-US trade of goods and services amounts to around €2bn. Removing barriers to trade in a range of economic sectors and thus cutting tariffs will result in substantial economic gains. Such gains will manifest themselves in huge savings to European companies. Since this agreement is expected to boost the EU’s economy, households are likely to gain approximately €545. All this is beneficial since it will improve demand and supply levels without the need of increased public spending and borrowing. 

This EU election delivered something of a blow to established parties, with Eurosceptic parties doing comparatively well. Do you feel that at a political level the EU has lost touch with issues that matter to the people? And if so, then, what needs to be done toreconnect?

I would attribute this negative feeling, which Eurosceptic parties bring along, to the difficult phase that the EU went through, mainly the economic crisis. This does not mean that the EU has lost touch with its people’s needs; but rather the economic crisis has created an environment in which populist extremists have thrived. Contrary to this negative perception, the EU is becoming more citizen oriented than it used to be some 40 years ago. At an EU level, we are not just talking about markets and economic factors. We also focus on enhancing the protection of civil liberties, environmental protection, consumer rights and safeguarding human rights. Even by looking at the EPP’s slogan (Believe in People) it is enough to realise that at an EU level one of the main driving forces is the citizen and we must always make sure that people make their voice heard and have their rights safeguarded. 

Marlene Mizzi – PL

What more can the EU do to help bring down current high levels of unemployment?

Creation of employment and economic growth is the essence of this eighth legislature of the European Parliament. Events of the past years have shown that austere economic measures adopted to address the economic crises have not worked. In this regard, strategies of economic stimulus must be embarked upon, involving all the stakeholders – governments, employers, banks, unions and educational institutions. The problem of skills mismatch must be addressed so that the demand of the job market will match the skill and qualification supply. Job creation and education go hand in hand both in the short- and long-term strategies.

What should the EU be doing to help businesses generally?

There are a number of measures that can be taken into account in order to assist businesses to grow.  The absolute majority of businesses in the EU fall into the SME category. One of the most important factors for a business to grow is access to finance – at times made impossible by banks requesting impossible and unaffordable conditions of a growing business. The EU provides funding for businesses wishing to expand and grow, but the bureaucracy involved in accessing these funds is a daunting exercise which discourages the development of worthy projects. The synergy between finance by banks and finance by EU programmes will go a long way into assisting businesses to grow and create employment. The other important factor for businesses is the availability of the right skills and knowledge in the search of suitable employees, as well as the right economic environment often created by government established strategies and fiscal policies.

Are there any areas, in particular, where you feel Maltese interests need protecting?

Most Maltese businesses are of the micro type and this has its pros and cons. There is no one size fits all strategies and we must be aware that being an island State provides particular challenges to our businesses. There are a number of factors which make our businesses less competitive than those located on mainland Europe – freight and transportation costs come immediately to mind. However, we do have other advantages, such as lower wage bills, which can be utilised as a balancing factor for the costs involved in being an island on the periphery of Europe. We must also be protective of our robust and growing financial services sector by ensuring that no legislation is passed which may jeopardise this important sector. We have been consistently voting against the introduction of FTT (Financial Transaction Tax) and against introducing tax harmonisation systems, as well as fighting the labelling of Malta as a “tax haven”. We must also be protective of our e-Gaming sector, which is a growing sector providing well paid jobs and substantial income for the country. The important thing is for the government and private businesses to acknowledge the challenges of EU membership and turn them into opportunities.

The EU and the USA are in the process of negotiating the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. Is this something you support and do you have any reservations about the benefits of this free trade agreement?

Like everything else such agreements have many facets, some of which are obviously advantageous, while some may not be. In general I agree and support this initiative which is being piloted by Commissioner Karel de Gucht, as the balance between the pros and cons falls in favour of the pros. TTIP is basically a Free Trade Agreement proposal between the United States and the European Union. Given the ever-increasing competition in the world economy, such an initiative is a plausible answer to the ongoing shift of global economic balances. The conventional wisdom behind the free trade agreements lists benefits like better market access, reduction of the inflation rates and multilateral economic growth for the signatories. Even though there were efforts on both sides of the Atlantic since the early 1990s for a free trade agreement, protectionism prevailed in a global economic environment where the aforementioned shift has not yet taken place and the pressure for such a close cooperation between these two economic powers were not felt, at least not as intense as it is being felt today.

The agreement is expected to focus on the issues like removing the obstacles for bilateral investments, enhancing the opportunities for e-commerce, introducing market value compensation for the corporations in cases of expropriation, free movement of business managers and employees that fell short of a general right of free movement and cross border subsidies. The agreement is expected not only to further ease the trade between two important global economic players but also generate millions of jobs that both markets direly need. The agreement is also expected to provide an additional advantage of reducing duplication rules and regulations. Moreover, the agreement will inevitably lead to a closer collaboration between the American and the European companies especially with regard to R&D to redefine these two economic power blocks as pioneers in new technologies. The estimate provided by the Centre for Economic Policy Research in 2013 includes an economic growth prediction of around €100bn for each economic player – the multiplier effect of which should not be underestimated.  

This EU election delivered something of a blow to established parties, with eurosceptic parties doing comparatively well. Do you feel that at a political level the EU has lost touch with issues that matter to the people? And if so then what needs to be done to reconnect?

Unfortunately, across the board, the EU is still an unknown animal for the man in the street. This may be due to the lack of dissemination of enough information so as to make the citizen more aware of how the EU effects them. Recent economic crises and the apparent impotence of the EU to do much about it, except pump more and more taxpayer’s money into failing member states, did not help matters. On a local level, the immigration problem which is seemingly being ignored by the EU has also fuelled scepticism about the “use” of the EU. These factors have resulted in the citizens being less and less interested in what goes on in the EU; in what the EU is achieving; and how the European Parliament effects the citizen. The popularity of characters like Le Pin in France, Beppe Grillo in Italy and Farag in the UK, are witness to the citizens trusting eurosceptics to represent them, rather than those who believe in the European project – a “project” which is alien to them. It is now up to us MEPs, to the Commission and to EU institutions to prove with facts that we are there for the good of the citizen. That is the only way we can reconnect!