More or less Europe?

When we speak of the European Union it is as if we are floating in different boats. Some are quite aware of the difference the EU makes in our daily live while others speak of it as extraneous and foreign. While some declare themselves to be Eurosceptic, others demand that the European Union decides all.

Despite this, the concept of joining together to work towards common standards in politics and economic growth is rather catchy and seems to have infected the vast majority of the Maltese society.

Even those who profess themselves to be Eurosceptic will continue their self-made declaration that they do not believe in the EU but on a particular topic they want it to do more. It’s a funny way of saying no to European political integration but yes for others to shoulder our challenges.

A British national residing in Malta whom I visited told me she is a Eurosceptic and not interested in the EU, only to continue asking me to make sure that the EU must raise national standards on environmental protection.

At one of the televised debates discussing immigration with a colleague who in 2004, proudly waved his voting document stating that he did not vote in the referendum, only recently also declared that he was saddened at Malta’s full membership in the EU.

Yet despite being described by most to be a Eurosceptic, he gladly argued that the EU should find the magic solution to immigration and that there is to be a common European policy. To me this type of stand conveys the message that ‘I do not want to be part of the solution but I want others to help solve the problem.’

I find this position to be untenable in an age when the political stability of one country depends on whether its neighbours are also politically stable, and when one’s own economic growth depends not just on the economic stability of neighbouring countries but also of third countries

EU citizens are spread on a diversity spectrum that has many colourful shades. In the same manner, the member states themselves are also diverse in their social and economic needs. Yet bringing this diversity together does not mean that one size fits all or that one is the other.

Unity in diversity is truly a question of gaining political and economic strength by working together towards common goals, but it is not coming together to be the same or to create some higher order that dictates. This may be thought of by some as a question of wanting more or less Europe but to my mind this is not a question of wanting a common higher order running the show.

Where issues are shared by the member states, often the best solution is a common one. Consider the challenge of immigration. Is this a Maltese challenge and not a European one? It is in fact a European challenge, but one that affects its member states in different ways. It affects Malta in ways that are different to other member states.

Malta is small in territory and population, yet very densely occupied with the only resource being the hard work of the Maltese and Gozitans. Its migrants arrive by boat and Malta is often their first step into the European Union, though not necessarily their preferred destination. 

This does not make migration any less of a European challenge that deserves a common European effort. On the contrary, a common European policy that also addresses the specificities of this challenge to Malta is very much needed.

While identifying those common challenges, a fine balance between what is to be determined nationally and what is to be determined through a common policy still needs to be retained. Even where a common policy is achieved, this too must make space for the diversity it addresses and consequently move away from a one size fits all mentality. Our SMEs for example do not necessarily work within the same conditions as SMEs in the UK, as our farmers do not either.

This fine balance could be kept by keeping the person at the forefront of European politics as much as national politics. This pushes representatives to take stock of the different realities we live in the different member states while at the same time addressing common and interdependent issues.

Therese Comodini Cachia is a Nationalist MEP candidate.