During the last plenary in Strasbourg, we saw the much-awaited annual State of the Union speech by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. What are your reactions to this?
As expected, largely because the European Commission mandate is coming to an end, the focus was not on announcing new laws but more on taking stock of policies and other aspects of consultation. Von der Leyen’s speech was also considered by many as a sign of her intention to seek another term as President of the European Commission. But beyond this, I am going to speak about some points she mentioned which merit attention.
She referred to a number of important challenges, which we must recognise. However, when it comes to the social sector, I wanted to hear more.
I was satisfied to hear her emphasise the important role farmers play in ensuring food security and that we must ensure that they are duly recognised and compensated for this role.
She also then mentioned that social dialogue will be strengthened. This is an important aspect: our unions need to be more integrated via the consultation process.
On equality, she spoke about laws which were implemented, but which we were worried would have remained stuck in the legislative process, such as the Women on Boards Directive and the EU’s ratification of the Istanbul Convention. The latter is an aspect I emphasised on a lot both during my electoral campaign and also after being elected, as it is something I strongly believe in. Domestic violence is never acceptable and as a European Parliament we are pushing to enshrine minimum standards in EU law regarding the criminalisation of certain forms of gender-based violence. We have more to do in this sector as well as in other sectors.
I welcomed the fact that she spoke of the importance of the Green Transition’s social aspect, an aspect which I continuously advocated for during my mandate. Beyond that which was announced, though, we need to see what the action afterwards is.
Recognising and naming the challenges and saying we are committed to working towards more equality and a Europe which doesn’t leave anyone behind is important, but we must remember that our citizens ultimately await action.
President von der Leyen spoke about enterprises which are experiencing a major shortage of workers in sectors which are important for Malta, such as tourism and hospitality. What are your comments on this?
The tourism industry was facing a labour shortage even before the pandemic started. When the pandemic struck, the situation became worse as workers started seeing the industry as a fragile one and were worried about their long-term professional stability in the sector.
In our country it helped that the government assisted the industry to keep workers employed through wage supplements, but it’s a reality that the European tourism sector was impacted as a whole.
In the tourism and hospitality sector it’s not merely about employing a worker, but about acquiring certain specific talents and qualities, including the necessary soft skills required to handle customers.
I emphasise the importance that, even while we employ foreign workers who are essential to cater for the current needs of the industry, we must at the same time incentivise and encourage more Maltese to work in this sector by instilling pride in this profession. We need to address the reasons why the number of Maltese working in the sector has dropped.
I believe that it is important that employers and policies should require a worker to have at least a basic level of knowledge on the culture and history of our country, not to mention the Maltese language. I expect that workers in Malta should make the effort to learn about the history, culture and also our unique language.
A lot still needs to be done in this sector. It was negatively affected by the pandemic, but we are now seeing that the stats have leaped back up to pre-Covid levels. Now we need to focus on the next leap from a sector based on quantity, to one which prides itself on quality. This means that we must invest in higher standards and training, whilst reinvigorating applicable legislation and policy, helping us attract motivated and skilled individuals to join this sector.
You are a member of the Intergroup on Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) and we have heard you speak more than once about the attention that the EU should give to our SMEs. Can you explain to us what the work in this sector entails and what you thought of the announcements in von der Leyen’s speech?
SMEs constitute the backbone of our economy, and also of all of Europe’s economy. When I was elected as an MEP, I joined the SMEs Intergroup which brings together members from a number of political parties and countries because I believe that European politics must advocate for the specific needs and challenges of SMEs.
Being small may bring you new opportunities but it also comes with a lot of challenges. SMEs, especially those coming from small countries and islands like ours, have certain specific challenges – such as a lack of resources and difficulty in acquiring financing and applying for EU funding. It was an honour for me that soon after the pandemic started on behalf of the S&D Group, I negotiated a report on a new European Strategy on SMEs.
During the State of the Union speech, we finally heard about certain tangible proposals supporting SMEs that we had long been waiting for.
I welcome the upcoming appointment of an SME Envoy and announced laws as part of the SME Relief Package. But it’s not only about putting laws in place; the EU needs to monitor the impact of these laws and policies continuously to make sure that they are having a positive effect.
Whilst the announcements are a good step and were well overdue, there are other aspects that we need to address. I want to see help desks, for example, to give a one-stop-shop service to SMEs so that when they have questions or need help they can be addressed from there.
Another theme mentioned in von der Leyen’s speech was that of equality. The fact that two out of three presidents of the major European Union institutions are women is a symbolic achievement. What are your thoughts on this? Do you believe that there is still more to be done for there to be true equality between the genders and sexes?
Certainly equality is a continuous fight and commitment. I’m glad that von der Leyen recognised what we have achieved as an EU, but there is certainly still much more to be done.
When we speak about equality there are areas where women still suffer from discrimination. Discrimination on grounds of gender and sexual orientation still exists in a wide sense as well and I wanted to link this to EuroPride, which occurred this month in our country – I was glad that this event happened in our country as we have made a lot of advances when it comes to LGBTIQ+ rights. But there is still more work to be done.
Besides being part of the Gender Mainstreaming Network in the European Parliament, I am also a member of the Intergroup for LGBTIQ+ rights. This was a historic event for the country but there is still much to be done: I condemn the isolated incident where queer people were verbally harassed and one was even physically assaulted at EuroPride, something which reminds us of the work we still have to do on equality and inclusivity.
When it comes to the robust legislative progress on LGBTIQ+ rights the Labour government successfully delivered on, it’s important to never become complacent. We need to continue advocating for these rights to be extended to all EU Member States and beyond, where structural homo- and transphobia remains the order of the day.
A practical measure, which I also wanted to mention, and which became reality thanks to my work along with other colleagues in Brussels, is on addressing period poverty. Here I am referring to the fact that the European Parliament’s visitors’ toilets now have free period products. This is something we need to speak about in the coming months and weeks and the Maltese government has pilot projects which I look forward to being implemented as soon as possible.
In her speech, von der Leyen spoke of the importance of an agreement between member states on a new pact on migration and asylum. What are your comments on this?
It’s good that Von der Leyen mentioned this, but still we must see this pact concluded effectively and in such a manner which takes into consideration the realities of countries like Malta which are on the front line.
Thousands lose their lives around the Mediterranean every year and we have countries, like Malta, which are being left with a bigger burden than they can take and thus need help. When we say help, it’s not mere voluntary help like we have now – we need a mandatory system and stronger solidarity. The Maltese government in the Council is fighting for this and as your representative in the European Parliament I bring this point up at every occasion I can.
Migration is a global phenomenon and Ursula von der Leyen was right to speak of the importance of collaboration with third countries.
In a meeting we had earlier this month with the European Commissioner responsible for migration, she said that progress is being made in the Council, which was never seen before, so it looks like countries are finally considering more effective solutions. Nevertheless, we must remain vigilant and keep hammering on this point. Until we see tangible and effective measures, any solution is not a just one.
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