There have been few other times when the European Union was shown to be an emperor with so few clothes on as now. In the face of aggressive and arbitrary US demands on trade relations it has buckled, preferring a bad deal to one that could become worse. On defence and security, its members have had to scramble to retain US support in NATO by raising their military spending hugely, with the likelihood this will affect negatively their economic situation.
On war in the Ukraine, they became committed to anti-Russian positions initially agreed with the Americans but about which the latter have been reneging. On the wars in the Middle East, especially Gaza, their only feasible approach has been to stay shamefully wishy washy. Going through with their declared policies for a Green Deal and to bolster economic competitiveness all around will bring internal divisions and funding crises, so the policies will probably be curtailed.
The EU is reaping what it sowed in the 1990's and later, when with US approval it rolled over Europe its expansionist project south and east of the Union. At the time, for those who wanted to see, the EU project was hegemonic in intent and execution.
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HOW?
The allegation is that over two million euros were embezzled from Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology funds over some two years. This year's allocation to MCAST from the government budget stood at 45 million euros. Assuming that the embezzled two million happened over a period of two years, this signals that the rate of embezzlement stood at some 2 to 3 per cent of the College's annual allocation of funds by the government.
The question that arises is not how technically it was or could have been done. It is how could it be done without being detected by whoever is in charge of the College's governance. Isn't there some kind of dual control to ensure that no hanky panky occurs and that no discrepancies in funds allocations are registered? Is no oversight at all exercised by the College board and at a higher level by the Education Department, and at a yet higher level by the Finance Ministry and finally by the National Audit Office?
Governance weaknesses on this scale suggest that the Finance Minister, apart from putting pressure on tax evaders, had better also ensure that government is operating a tight ship in the management of its expenditures.
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APARTHOTELS
In debates about where tourists are seeking their accomodation, one hears a lot about those who choose to go to a flat/apartment as compared to hotels. While the latter have lost market share in an expanding market to accomodation in apartments, the focus is (if one understands correctly) on getting higher occupancies for hotels in the higher categories, in order to upgrade tourists' per capita expenditure. One emphasis has been on boutique hotels.
However, very little is heard about aparthotels, their number, range and location, their contribution. Checking at booking.com gives a summary list that quickly merges into the serviced apartment category, which is not strictly speaking an aparthotel arrangement. Yet, aparthotels should in theory at least, provide a solution to problems like those which have been arising at Swieqi among others, such as with visitors' garbage left behind on street pavements.