Neil Agius is an extraordinary human being.
He completed a world record 140km non-stop swim around Malta, Gozo, and Comino.
The weather did not take kindly to his noble initiative (that of raising awareness about the state of Malta's marine habitat). The sea was rough, the wind strong, and it rained too.
It was as if the natural elements had unanimously agreed to make Neil give up. But they were no match to the Maltese, ultra-athlete, stamina, courage, and perseverance. He won. They lost.
Safely on shore, after a gruelling three days and nights of non-stop swim, surrounded by a large crowd of cheering enthusiasts, including Prime Minister Robert Abela, the brave ultra-athlete first reaction was selfless, 'It is not about me', he said, 'I swam for Malta'.
In many ways, he did. He raised awareness about Malta's marine habitat, but he did more than that - he united the nation. People were glued to their phones, watching social media platforms that tracked Neil's mammoth task.
There was unanimous approval for his initiative. He had everyone's consent, backing, and support. People were in awe, and rightly so.
Neil Agius defied the odds and proved that nothing is impossible to achieve if you put your mind to it. He is an inspiration to us all. We need more Neil's.
A bloodbath in Gaza
As I write this article, another life has been lost in Gaza, another home destroyed, another life uprooted and yet another orphan roaming the streets - lost, traumatized, scarred and desperate.
The situation is devastating. Thousands of innocent lives have been lost. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced. Lives lost and livelihoods ruined.
The past uprooted, the future curtailed. It is a blood bath. The horrors of death and displacement. War. Misery. Desperation.
Malta has always been an ardent advocate for a two-state solution in the Middle East that allows Israel and Palestine to live together and side-by-side in peace and prosperity.
Five months ago, I addressed a conference of the Party of European Socialists held in Bucharest, Romania. Amongst the audience, German Chancellor Olaf Schultz and European Commissioner Nicholas Schmit.
I urged my European socialist colleagues to make their voices heard when it comes to conflict in Gaza.
I insisted that foreign policy must be value-driven and that the most important value is to actively pursue peace.
A unique moment for Malta
Malta's European Commissioner nominee, Glenn Micallef, has been assigned the all-important Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport portfolio by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
As Malta's culture minister, this decision gives me immense satisfaction.
Government is investing heavily in Malta's cultural sector.
That this important sector shall be the responsibility, on a European wide level, of a Maltese national is a historic moment for Malta's arts and cultural sector.
Micallef's portfolio has an extraordinary budget of Euro 13 billion assigned to it. It is a huge responsibility but also a great opportunity to bolster Europe's cultural sector, which includes Malta's cultural sector. I am looking forward to keeping the excellent working relationship going for more culture in Europe's future.
Glenn Micallef's portfolio also includes youths and sports.
These are two important sectors that the EU needs to focus on. It explains why Ursula von der Leyen created this new role within her Commission set-up, and it was no coincidence that she assigned it to the youngest commissioner nominee.
Given his young age, coupled with his extensive experience and undisputed competence in EU affairs, Glenn is in sync with the needs and aspirations of the younger generation, and he has the competence to address them as EU Commissioner.
It is estimated that by the year 2025, young people will make up 15% of the EU population. In 2021, according to Eurostat data, there were 73 million young people aged between 15 and 29 years. In 2023, more than one in ten (11.2%) young people aged 15 to 29 in the EU were neither in employment nor in education or training. One quarter (25.3 %) of young people in the EU were at risk of poverty or social exclusion.
These pertinent issues must be addressed by the EU. It is a tall order for Malta's nominee commissioner, but I have no doubt that given the chance, he will make Malta proud.
Like his fellow colleagues, Glenn Micallef shall be 'grilled' by Members of the European Parliament. It is no secret that nominee commissioners face a tough grilling - as should be.
I trust that the MEPs, and of course the Maltese MEPs, the six of them, shall fully endorse Glenn's nomination.
This is a unique moment for Malta.
Our MEPs but also all the MEPS, regardless of their nationality, have an excellent occasion to demonstrate that they really and truly believe in the younger generation. I wish Glenn well.
60 years young
Last Saturday, Malta celebrated 60 years as an independent state.
Together with Freedom Day and Republic Day, Independence Day is a significant milestone in the history of our nation.
After more than two centuries of British rule, the Maltese had had enough and took matters into their own hands. They started to decide for themselves, doing what was really and truly in Malta's national interest and that of its people.
The achievement of Malta's Independence, as was Freedom Day, and Republic Day, was no walk in the park.
It took our forefathers long years of hard work, patience, and perseverance.
They believed that Malta could stand up on its feet and decide for itself without having others do that for us.
We have come a long way since then.
Today, despite our small size, we are leading Europe in LGBTIQ+ rights; have one of the highest employment rates in Europe; a modern infrastructure; a strong and robust economy; a state-of-the-art health sector, which is free of charge, as is education, across all levels. We actively pursue peace, we have neutrality entrenched in our Constitutions, have rock-solid political stability and we are a very healthy democracy.
Vision, the right policies and resilience are key to obtain these outstanding achievements. And they shall remain so.