MEP Alex Agius Saliba is involved in the drafting of a new directive to ensure the continuity and delivery of essential services in the EU in crisis situations, pandemics, or any natural or manmade disasters and terrorist attacks, the Labour Party said in a statement.
Electricity, water, transport, and healthcare are all essential sectors and services that affect the livelihoods of all citizens. Threats for those services evolve fast and are increasingly complex. The COVID-19 pandemic, for example, has shown the vulnerability of those sectors and the increasing interdependence between countries.
"If we are to make sure that our citizens and infrastructures are safe and protected, we need to be better prepared and react quickly to any potential disruption, incidents, and crisis such as the current pandemic. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and our hospitals, waste, water systems, or electricity and transport infrastructure should not be that link.," said the Labour MEP.
As the Rapporteur for the internal market and consumer protection committee, Agius Saliba will work on a new EU directive that aims to address any potential weakness that can disrupt the delivery of such vital services. The Directive will safeguard the protection and continuity of supply of those services, in order to ensure the smooth functioning of the internal market and the wellbeing of people, even in a time of crises. Disruptions in one part of the Union risk affecting the provision of essential services elsewhere. The pressure on the health sector due to the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, has resulted in measures across the EU limiting mobility that have impacted transport operators and other sectors such as agriculture, tourism, travel, electricity, and Internet networks.
Another example given by Alex Agius Saliba was the collapse in 2018 of the Genoa bridge, which disrupted the transport flows between Genoa and other major cities in Europe and caused damages amounting to 360 million EUR to more than 2,000 companies.
"The changing nature of the threat landscape and interconnection between services require better protection and more resilience capacities. This is even more relevant for islands or small Member States, such as Malta, which often has to rely on services and goods delivered from the other Member States." said MEP Alex Agius Saliba. In 2019, for example, Malta suffered nation-wide power cuts, leading to a complete shutdown off electricity to all homes, businesses, and factories and causing rush-hour road chaos as traffic lights went dark. The cause was an interruption in the cable supplying power from Sicily to Malta, which only shows that interdependent relationships between sectors, including ones in other countries, are key.
Alex Agius Saliba concluded by saying that as a rapporteur for the IMCO Committee, he will try to ensure that these crucial services are resilient against any risks, accidents, and pandemics like the one we are experiencing today so that together we can safeguard the proper functioning of the internal market and the livelihoods of those living in Europe.