The head of the European Commission representation in Malta, Lorenzo Vella is “fairly positive” that the target for the EU to become climate neutral by 2050, as outlined in the Green Deal, will be achieved.
In an interview with The Malta Independent on Sunday, Vella was questioned about criticism that the European Union takes too long when it comes to taking action, and was given the example that, while it had introduced the Green Deal, some argue that it's too late.
"Should the Commission have acted earlier? Possibly. But the action that the Commission has taken from 2019 till today is quite substantial. In the sense that today we know that we have to become the first climate neutral continent in the world by 2050.”
Asked whether he believes the goals set can be achieved, he said: "So far we are fairly positive on attaining the 2050 targets.”
Told that, in 2021, Malta's renewable energy share stood at around 12.2%, he said that the aim of the EU is to have a climate neutral continent by 2050 across the board. "Then obviously each member state will have its own particularities and own specificities. If you ask me about Malta, yes, the amount of energy being generated from renewables in Malta is what it is. It's still relatively low, although improvements are quite substantial. But obviously there will be an offsetting mechanism, in the sense that there will be member states who have already progressed quite significantly, and then there are other member states with specific problems and challenges.”
Turning to the expansion of the European Union, and the challenges with that, he said: “As President von der Leyen said during the State of the European Union, her aim, and the ambition of the union, is to get a union of 30 plus. We have seen a resurgence in the interest in membership because of the geopolitical situation that our continent finds itself in. It's the first time in many years where full-scale war has returned to our continent, where we have seen, for example, a surge in migration because of the war.”
Ukraine, he said, "has taken it on board very seriously to become a member of the European Union. They applied to become a candidate country and were granted candidate status". He believes this also encouraged others to reinitiate this discussion, "including Moldova, for example, and Georgia, which is not a candidate country, but was granted European perspective. But there are also countries in the Western Balkans".
After Russian aggression in Ukraine, he said the Commission has seen the need for "an expansion of our values as well as principles across the European continent, not only the European Union, because we believe that our values and principles, what we believe in and what we stand for, as a European Union, can guarantee the peace and safety in our continent".
He said that many other states in the Western Balkans, and others, "are interested in joining our bloc because they see the benefits of becoming a member of this European Union and the advantages that they would get. We, in turn, would also get advantages".
He said that there are challenges. "The fact that President von der Leyen said that accession to the union is merit based, that is a very clear indication as to what we mean (…) If you ask me whether Ukraine is ready today to join the European Union, probably not, because accession, like in the case of Malta for example, takes years. You have to get your laws in line with the European Union's requirements. Most states that are applying to become EU members are not yet ready. They have to implement the acquis of the European Union in their national laws, improve their fight on corruption, for example, or improve their rule of law situation."
Asked for his opinion regarding the importance of the European Parliament when it comes to making sure that local institutions are kept in check, he said he cannot speak on behalf of the Parliament, however spoke about the Commission. "Notwithstanding the political dimension coming from the European Parliament, which is a political body that has 700 plus MPs who have extreme liberty as to what they address as their subjects of choice, etc., the Commission also addresses issues that are being addressed by the European Parliament, including the rule of law."
"Annually, the Commission launches the rule of law reports,” he said. “There is a discussion, a mission or several missions, to each member state by rule of law experts from the Commission visiting major stakeholders, but not just governmental entities or the judiciary, but also NGOs, civil society, political parties, and so on. That is compiled in a rule of law report.”
"The way that the data and information is collected is in as objective a manner as possible. The intention of the rule of law report by the Commission is not to lambast a member state about its problems, but to guide the member states in the right direction so that all citizens across the union can enjoy the same level of access to the judiciary, freedom of speech, etc. whether you're in Malta, Sweden or in Spain, for instance."
There have been instances when the Commission is at loggerheads with member states. Spring-hunting is one such example when it comes to Malta, golden passports another. Asked whether he thinks the Commission needs more powers when it comes to these sorts of issues, he said: “The Commission is the guardian of the treaties. We have a set of rules that have to be followed, and the Commission will not decide frivolously to take a member state to court. The spring-hunting issue is simply, in our opinion as the Commission, the lack of implementation of certain rules, in this case the Birds Directive. Obviously, there will be a case in front of the Courts of Justice of the European Union. As happens in a normal court, the member state will present its submissions and the Commission will file its submissions. But there are no hard feelings against a member state or another. It's simply that the Commission sees a lack of implementation or a lack of adherence to a certain rule and it would be up to the courts to decide."
He said this is all part of the checks and balances in the EU.
Next year the EU Parliament elections will be held. The choices citizens make will have an impact on the policies of the European Union, he said, adding that “all votes cast matter”.
“When people vote, they will vote for the formation of the new European Parliament. And the European Parliament will decide quite a lot. The President of the Commission will come before the European Parliament, once nominated by the European Council, whoever it will be,” he said.
The EU Parliament must approve the new Commission President, proposed by the European Council, by an absolute majority (half of all MEPs, plus one).
Vella explains that the policies and priorities chosen by the new Commission, after the elections, “will depend on the formation of the Parliament. So, if we have more centre parties elected, for example, it will be given a certain direction. Whereas if we have more parties that are of the extreme right or extreme left, or any extremes, then another direction could be instilled in the new Commission from 2024 onwards.
Asked whether he is concerned about the rise of Far-right parties and politicians in Europe, and whether he foresees that having a rather large impact in the coming election, he said: "I think it was the same situation in 2019, and it will be the same situation in 2024. Again, the choices that citizens would make, without trying to influence any kind of decision by citizens, will have an impact on the whole policies of the European Union."
“Sometimes, this is where we are lacking in terms of communicating with citizens, that their choices will have a drastic impact. Imagine having a Commission that is elected with a number of commissioners that do not believe in the climate transition, for example. The policies of the Commission would then end up opposite to what we have today (...) and it could actually happen. So yes, it's always a concern for those of us who believe that there needs to be a climate transition for instance or those of us who believe there should be a digital transition, as we believe that there should be more emphasis on the promotion of our core values within the European Union. Imagine having a large party, a large fraction of the European Parliament, that does not share the same values that we share today. That would instil certain policies.”
Next year marks 20 years of EU membership. Asked whether he thinks that Malta's expectations of the EU before joining have been met, he said that having experienced Malta before joining and after, its evident that there has been a drastic improvement in the quality of life of citizens and in the benefits for citizens. Focusing on the financial aspect, he said that the amount of funds Malta receives is seen as the most impactful aspect of the EU that people can physically see, as it contributes to the construction of new schools, new roads for instance. “In that respect there is no question as to whether Malta has improved, the answer is obvious. What we, as the European Commission representation in Malta, need to do is to further instil in citizens the knowledge that it is not just about funds, but the European Union has brought a drastic change in our daily lives. Needless to say, today we can travel seamlessly to most EU countries without changing currency. We also don't need to worry about visas when doing so, or our mobile phone consumption. This is an achievement of the single market and of freedom of movement."
Asked about those who might have wanted the EU to do more when it comes to battling corruption, fraud, etc. he said: “Improvements have been registered across the board. Can there be more improvement? Definitely. I’ll refer to the rule of law reports. It's the Commission's role to assess the implementation of certain legislation, certain rules and certain values in the different member states. The Commission has, for instance, been notifying the local authorities about the need to improve the speed of the judiciary when it comes to taking decisions. The delays in the courts are still impactful. Have we seen improvements? Yes, we have," he said, however adding that the improvements might not have gone as far as was wanted.
"What the European Commission is doing now, is that we're providing more financial resources for member states to improve these different elements. For example, post Covid the Commission launched the Next Generation EU plan, which is a new financial instrument that was implemented through the recovery and resilience plan of Malta. One of the milestones and the initiatives that Malta has to take, in order to be able to benefit from the disbursement of funds, is to improve the judiciary." He mentioned the digitalisation of the judicial system as an example.
“So yes, there's a lot of aspects where the European Union has already addressed most of the issues. And there are others where we are slowly getting there."
Asked about migration and solidarity, he said that looking back 15 years ago, he would have been very sceptical about the idea of an agreement being reached between the EU states on the New Pact on Migration and Asylum. “Today, we are on the verge. President von der Leyen mentioned it very clearly in her State of the European Union speech, that by the end of this mandate, we'll reach a situation where the New Pact on Migration and Asylum will be adopted. That instils in me a lot of faith and trust in this European project, because now we are very close to reaching an actual target and date where there will be the implementation of mandatory solidarity."
He said that the issue of migration is not just about the New Pact on Migration and Asylum. "President von der Leyen had mentioned the migration issue and the new pact, but she also mentioned the new operational approach that the European Union is taking, for example, with close contact with Tunisia, as well as other countries when it comes to migration. And that's also important. So it's not just leaving it up to the legislation, but also taking a different approach through our agencies."
The European Agency for Asylum is helping member states to fine-tune their systems, like the processing of applications, he said.
"It's a multifaceted support, and we're also addressing issues when it comes to the African continent, which is extremely important for Malta."