‘We want to remain’: British expats in Malta fearing a Brexit

With a UK referendum on EU membership on the horizon, British expats who live in Malta appear anxious about the consequences of a victory for the No camp. 

Indeed, all five expats who spoke to MaltaToday following a conference on the implications of a Brexit said that they intend to vote for the UK to remain in the EU. 

“Voting to remain would mean accepting certain sacrifices to our sovereignty, but those are outweighed by the positives of EU membership – such as EU directives on working time and working rights for women,” pensioner David Dillnutt said. “Joseph Muscat put it well when he said that the EU would treat a post-Brexit UK as a friend but not as a family and that relationships would be polite but not intimate. I’d hate that; Malta and the UK have a great thing going between them and it should be built upon.”   

He warned that a Brexit could lead to a devaluation of the pound sterling, which could mean that British pensioners – whose pensions are forwarded in pounds – would no longer be able to afford living on the island. 

Similarly, Steve Flinders hailed the EU single market, labour laws, environmental laws, and harmonization of the telecommunications market. 

“The UK and Europe share similar cultural and geopolitical values, and it wouldn’t make sense for the UK to render itself more vulnerable by splitting off from Europe, especially in a world with security threats from China and the Middle East. 

“The UK and Malta have a strong relationship, and it could be easy for them to conduct bilateral relationships in the case of a Brexit, but if protectionism and isolationism triumph in the referendum, then I’ll seriously consider renouncing my nationality.” 

Meanwhile, Robert Gilbert-Warsop and Louise Redfern warned that a Brexit could harm Maltese tourism and prompt several expats to pack up their bags back to the UK. 

“There is no doubt that the UK should remain in the EU; the UK’s human rights and LGBT laws all come from Europe, and EU membership means that we can come to Malta and live under the sun,” Gilbert-Warsop said. “The people spearheading the Leave campaign are simply feeding on fear and creating panic.” 

“The EU has brought a lot of positives to the UK– from the success of its financial services industry, to improved security, to ease of travel,” Redfern said. “The UK should remain a member state and try and change things from within. Unfortunately, British people only hear about the negatives of EU membership from the press.” 

Lisa Parker, who runs a group of around 200 British expats in Malta, insisted that the economic benefits of EU membership outweigh all other concerns and that a Brexit is unlikely to be a clean cut. 

“Leaving Europe will be a long and messy period, with politicians from both sides fighting it out amongst each other,” she said. “I don’t think the expats I work with have yet grasped the seriousness of the situation, but the fear is there, especially among the elder members who fear that they might have to return to the UK.”

‘Politicians’ faults for blaming Brussels bureaucrats’  

The expats were speaking following a conference, in which all speakers urged the UK to vote to remain in the EU. 

The parliamentary secretary for EU funds, Ian Borg, called on the UK and fellow EU member states to “embrace the globalisation of politics”. 

“The EU has been plagued with crises for over a decade, and yet it remains the greatest political project of our generation,” he said. “Eurosceptics claim that a Brexit would boost employment and competitiveness in the UK, but Malta’s recent economic history is proof that such successes can be earned while remaining an EU member state.”  

Opposition MP and former finance minister Tonio Fenech said that Malta would lose a key EU ally were the UK to vote to leave. 

“Like Malta, the UK tends to favour economic flexibility and it brings a much-needed balance to France and Germany in discussions. Malta needs the UK’s voice, as it helps make EU directives more sensible, business friendly, and more conscious of their impact.” 

Questioning why the UK is considering an exit when it “always gets its way” in Europe, such as in its exemption from the Eurozone, he suggested that national politicians are partly to blame for the lack of public faith in the EU. 

“We local politicians have long blamed bureaucrats in Brussels for every measure that we and the people don’t like – even when they are formed by ourselves in the European Council. Now we are telling them that they should like Brussels…”