In the interview 'MBB CEO advocates for tests to determine what impact EU policies would have on island states' in this newspaper (1 February), Mario Xuereb put a strong policy foot forward as his new team takes shape. The walk so far also matches the talk, as his new Brussels-based staff are already visibly around town, bringing clear competence and dynamism to the MBB's networking. 

This is also the time when reading the lay of the land, even more than pushing the company-members' narratives, will prove crucial. And while an 'insularity test' for new EU legislation would be great for Malta and its businesses, the current political atmosphere suggests the European institutions are in the mood for anything but more impact assessments.

When asked if any pipeline EU policies need to be modified for Malta's realities, Xuereb mentions four dossiers, but omits the one that arguably every Maltese stakeholder and citizen should be worried about: the Better Regulation initiative. The consultation published in January shows the European Commission is using the hostile global trade situation to update the way it puts through new legislation which bypasses the need to consider the economic, social and environmental impact of new laws.

The response from civil society has been unequivocal: from industry groups, bank federations and trade unions to health, environment and climate NGOs, the move has been denounced as undermining democracy and European citizens' right to shape EU law, and setting a path to the dismantling of the very standards that protect the health, well-being and prosperity. 

Each 'Omnibus' proposal since the Von Der Leyen Commission took over has deregulated important standards and safeguards which took the institutions right to get the right balance for, and which cost companies time and effort to prepare for - and the interests whose agenda prospers are largely not European SMEs or mid-caps. The European Ombudsman has slammed this trading of accountability for urgency for "discouraging early compliance in the future and introducing precisely the uncertainty that simplification is meant to reduce."

If this type of 'better' regulation goes through, it will be worse for nearly every Maltese business and certainly for every citizen. 

Indeed the idea of impact assessments reflecting the impact on each Member State, besides at Union or Single Market level, is not being made by Malta for the first time. Our size and insularity are real enough disadvantages, but on their own form neither a solid argument not a pathway for special treatment or exemptions from the full application of legislation. Indeed there are several equally disadvantaged communities around the EU territory, and for each the same pragmatic truth applies: the success of their lobbying depends on proposing technical solutions which address their issues without undermining any fundamental principles of EU law, or create precedents or loopholes that would detract from the effectiveness of laws. 

And while we may well share the same geographical barriers as Crete, the Azores or Guadeloupe, the political considerations are different - and the latter more than the former. The Maltese and Cypriot Prime Ministers sit at the same table as Macron and Merz, and hold the same veto as Orban and Fico, which these days is becoming a thorn in the side of the big Member States' strategies, as recent debacles have shown.

And so Xuereb is right about the MBB's strategy to build alliances, and he ought to be thinking well beyond business and government organizations - Ireland's example is a good model for Malta, where the Brussels diaspora and stakeholders seem to know and get roped in to pull together for genuine core national interests. That strategy requires tactics that look beyond facile narratives that appeal to one sector or interest. In that sense, branding every piece of climate or social legislation that businesses dislike as an 'unjust tax' or starting phrases with 'The EU must understand that' won't help Malta, while producing and publishing solid evidence and feasible pathways and lines that make sense and can be 'sold' in Brussels.

For any of that to work for Malta, Brussels will need to stick to good impact assessments. And wouldn't bringing all Maltese voices together for 'better regulation' to actually mean better for Malta too be a great way for the MBB to lead?      

Justin Zahra is the Senior Director for the EU Agricultural Program of a global climate non-profit supporting farmers in climate-smart farming, and formerly a senior servant over two decades at Malta's agriculture ministry