Karmenu Vella, Commissioner-designate for the Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, described himself as being a "convinced European" in reply to written questions sent by MEPs prior to his hearing tomorrow.

The MEPs asked Mr Vella what aspects of his personal qualifications and experience are particularly relevant for becoming Commissioner and promoting European interests.

In his reply, the former tourism minister backed up his European credentials by saying that he voted for Malta's accession to the EU and, more recently, served as a minister in a "pro-European government led by a former member of the European Parliament".

"Throughout my political life I have been guided by the same values and principles which I would consider fundamentally European: the principles of democracy, solidarity, of equality between men and woman, human dignity and non-discrimination, and the social market economy."

Mr Vella, who served as a minister under Dom Mintoff's and Alfred Sant's governments, said experience has led him to understand that nothing is ever perfect and that there are always changes that can improve the way things are done.

"If confirmed, I hope to bring this perspective to my work as Commissioner, working with you to face the challenges ahead; finding solutions that will increase support from our citizens and strengthen the legitimacy of the EU in their eyes."

Speaking about the responsibilities entrusted to him in his portfolio, Mr Vella pointed out that he has been a minister in a government "for whom sustainability and the protection of the environment is a key policy, and one that was absolutely essential for my ministerial portfolio of tourism".

"The continued challenge we face is to ensure that standards developed over three decades of EU environmental policy are effectively transposed and applied correctly in all Member States thus benefitting society at large."

"Ensuring the most efficient, consistent, transparent, and cross-cutting implementation of the environmentalacquis will receive my fullest attention. I will use the twin approach of promoting compliance in partnership with Member States while developing new approaches to co-operation and further tools. However, I will not hesitate to make full use of the Commission legal enforcement instruments to ensure compliance including with the polluter-pays principle.

"Fisheries have been a central policy area for my country for obvious reasons and the balancing of the interests of protection of the marine environment and the sustainability of the fishing industry is one that I fully understand."

"On the maritime side, all of my ministerial and private sector experience is relevant to the work of developing the blue economy and working with colleagues across the Commission to maximise the synergies with all relevant policy areas to achieve this goal."

Mr Vella reassured MEPs that his almost four decades worth of experience as an MP has made him cognisant of the role Parliament plays in a democracy.

"I consider input from Parliament to be a crucial aspect of the legislative process. Policies that emerge from cooperation and dialogue with Parliament will always be better."

"I appreciate the key role that the European Parliament plays in ensuring democracy, legitimacy, accountability and transparency. It would therefore be natural to my role as Commissioner to establish a strong working partnership with its members."

The full replies to MEPs' questions can be found on The Malta Independent's web site.