Interview on MaltaToday with Robert Micallef an
MLP candidate for the European Parliament
Robert Micallef was employed as an economist with the European
Commission and worked with the European Union delegation
to Malta during the years of EU-Malta accession negotiations.
Earlier, he was active with the European Socialists and
was elected on the leadership bureau of the European Youth
Forum in Brussels. In this interview, Dr Gianni Cutuli from
the Agenzia Giornalistica Europa discusses a number of issues
with Robert Micallef including the enlargement of Europe;
the EU-Malta negotiations; the European economy and the
European Constitution.
1st of May 2004 is a landmark in European History.
The road to Enlargement has not been easy particularly for
the European Commission which has administered the accession
negotiations with the new member states on behalf of the
fifteen EU countries. You were involved directly in this
process having been employed with the Commission for a number
of years as an economist. You witnessed the process in which
applicant countries began to transform their politics, economics
and society to conform to the European Union. How difficult
has it been?
This is Europe's largest enlargement and is the result of
a series of progressive steps and meetings starting in 1993
when EU leaders set the famous Copenhagen criteria, the
democratic, political and market economy requirements for
membership of the EU.
At the beginning it was a two-tier process with half the
countries in a fast group, the Luxembourg group, and half
in a slower group, the Helsinki group. Following a change
in government Malta just about made it to the Helsinki group
partly thanks to the fact that the Labour Government had
not withdrawn the membership application but had simply
suspended it. Had the Labour government withdrawn the application
altogether Malta would most probably have missed this enlargement
because the process of submitting a new application would
have been too complex as well as requiring consensus amongst
the 15 member states. The European Commission while handling
the negotiations with the applicant countries, was supervising
the process of implementing the administrative structures
in all countries to allow them to introduce the rules and
regulations of the Acquis in many different sectors. During
this period I was employed as an economist with the European
Commission and worked for the European Union Delegation
to Malta. It was a privilege to work under the guidance
of Romano Prodi , the President of the European Commission
who I believe deserves a lot of credit for putting EU enlargement
as a central target of the Commission when he became president
in 1999. This work allowed me to go into the detail of all
the chapters in the negotiations particularly from an economic
perspective. By 2001, the European Commission was able to
announce that 10 countries were ready to join the EU and
the negotiations were completed at the end of 2002 with
the important Copenhagen Summit in December where enlargement
from 15 to 25 member states was given the go-ahead. A lot
of bartering took place at that summit. The Maltese Government,
for example, withdrew its request for six seats in the European
parliament in exchange for a protocol on abortion and a
unilateral non-binding declaration on neutrality.
Following the change in Government in Spain
and the resignation of the Polish Prime Minister the draft
European Union Constitutional Treaty which had been put
on the back burner emerged back on the political agenda.
What are your views about the European Constitution?
For eighteen months the Convention on the Future of Europe
made up of government representatives and parliamentarians
from both the EU and applicant countries met to discuss
a draft constitution for the people of Europe. Following
the Nice Treaty, the Convention set out to propose reforming
the way the institutions worked.
It is possibe that the intergovernmental conference (IGC)
could be concluded by June allowing governments to start
the process of ratifying the treaty in their national parliaments.
For some countries that constitutionally have to hold a
referendum the approval process may take longer. The United
Kingdom has also decided to hold a referendum which many
predict could fail. If national parliaments do not reatify
then the treaty will go back to the negotiating table. Not
much discussion has taken place in malta about the dynamic
or consequences of the Constitution probably because the
debate in malta has been dominated by the dilemma of whether
to join the European Union or not. Now that the Maltese
public has decided Malta will hopefully engage more constructively
in contributing to the creation of a Constitutional Europe.
One thing I find ironic about this debate in Europe is that
the anti-EU political parties in Europe want to reject the
draft constitution when in fact it gives them the option
to withdraw from the European Union.
Although the combined economic weight of all
ten accession countries is equivalent to a country the size
of the Netherlands, the EU will soon welcome member states
with growth rates higher than the EU 15. What do you think
the impact of enlargement will be on the European economy?
It is not easy to predict the impact of EU enlargement on
the European economy. The total GDP of the new member states
only represents around 5% of that of today’s European
Union. Growth last year in the accession countries was over
four times faster than the current EU 15. Whilst economic
output increased in the current member states by just 0.8
percent, the accession countries grew by 3.6 percent.
Wages in accession countries tend to be much lower than
in the current member states. For example, Poland's wage
rate is approximately one tenth that of Germany. This will
encourage companies to invest where they have lower salaries.
In the long term the European economy will gain with the
removal of trade barriers and the liberalisation of capital
flows in accession countries. So the prospects for FDI flows
after enlargement are positive but mostly when viewed from
the perspective of Central and Eastern European states.
Malta’s strategy for attracting FDI continues to be
slow in achieving results due to higher costs and the lack
of a proper strategy to encourage economic development and
implement structural reforms. Without such a strategy Malta
risks facing serious difficulties in maintaining growth
and in fullfilling economic criterias. On a European level,
the Lisbon process which aims to make the European economy
the most competitive in the world by 2010, is widely seen
as unsuccessful since member states have not managed to
successfully reform their economies.
The elections in June are historic because they
represent the largest ever trans-national democratic election
symbolizing the beginning of a more unified Europe with
25 countries coming together to work together peacefully.
How will you approach these elections?
We must work together to make the enlarged EU a success
and convince as many people as possible go to participate
in these elections. It is in Malta’s interest that
the European project is successful. Turnout has been highlighted
as a key issue. At the last European Elections there were
record low turnouts in many member states. In the UK a turnout
of around 24% was registered. It was a different story in
Belgium since compulsory voting encourages a high turnout.
In Belgium if you fail to vote three times in a row you
lose your right to vote. Recent research conducted by the
London School of Economics indicates that turnout might
rise in these elections because of the novelty of voting
for the first time in the accession countries. However in
Malta some abstentions from both nationalist and labour
camps are predicted. From the Labour side a minority are
still skeptical about voting in what is perceived a European
vote while on the Nationalist side a combination of protest
and passivity could keep people at home. Nevertheless on
the 14th June, 732 people from 25 different countries will
be elected to the European Parliament.
You attended the congress of the The Party of
European Socialists (PES) at the European parliament in
Brussels just a few days ago which adopted the Manifesto
for the June elections. How will the MLP participate in
the work of the PES?
The Malta Labour Party is fortunate to be a member of the
PES which is a strong and coherent party able to work effectively
on a European level. The President of the PES Robin Cook
has just been replaced by Poul Nyrup Rasmussen of Denmark
in a closely contested election with Giuliano Amato. Rasmussen
is very forward looking and has a lot of dynamic ideas for
the future including a controversial proposal to replace
party membership in the PES with individual membership from
across Europe. The MLP will be represented in the Praesidium
of the PES by former deputy leader Dr George Vella.
It was an important congress for the PES because it consolidated
the work done in the previous years. I have been following
the work of these congress since the founding congress of
the PES in the Hague in 1992 for which I was present. At
that congress the European Community Organisation of Socialist
Youth (ECOSY) was also founded. In that period I held the
position of European secretary of the International Union
of Socialist Youth in Vienna. The MLP candidates who are
elected in June will be part of the Socialist Group in the
European Parliament which has a separate structure and President,
Enrique Baron Crespo. As you said, the PES Congress last
weekend approved the Manifesto for the European Parliament
elections. The manifesto puts forward a programme for a
progressive European Union that puts first the concerns
of people. It gives voters a number of key commitments for
the European Parliament's next five-year term and pledges
work across Europe to ensure that all citizens in all 25
member states benefit from EU enlargement. Job creation,
sustainable development, democracy and world security are
central pillars of this manifesto. These will be the priorities
for all member parties including the MLP.
MLP candidate Robert Micallef
a former economist at the delegation of the European Commission
has his say
He landed on the political scene last year after contesting
the general election on behalf of the Labour Party. At the
time he concurred with Labour’s partnership policy
but today Robert Micallef says nobody should doubt the MLP’s
European credentials.
“If the European Socialists were not convinced of
the Labour Party’s commitment on the EU they wouldn’t
have taken an immediate decision to accept the MLP as part
of the Socialist family. They would have postponed the decision
as has happened in the past with other parties,” Micallef
says.
He cannot understand the Nationalist Party’s campaign
to try and obscure Labour’s European vocation and
insists the PN is talking about issues, which are of no
concern to the people.
Micallef says Alfred Sant had a very difficult task of keeping
a balance between the faction in the Labour Party, which
was against EU membership at all costs and the more moderate
wing. “I think he (Sant) managed to represent that
balance quite well between 1992 and last year. The issue
was very sensitive and could have provoked a split in the
party.”
But today Micallef believes that scepticism among Labour
supporters has decreased. “It is much less evident
now than it was a couple of months back,” he says.
Micallef is a moderate and has also worked at the European
Commission as an economist. But this ‘newish’
Labour image contrasts with Micallef’s presence alongside
Dom Mintoff during a number of public meetings held by the
Front Maltin Inqumu. Only recently, Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici
and Mintoff publicly endorsed Micallef saying he was the
only candidate committed to change the Accession Treaty
signed last year.
“My friendship with Dom Mintoff goes back a number
of years. I started to correspond with him when I was a
student at Oxford, some 15 years ago and after I finished
my course of studies he invited me over to his place and
we remained in touch ever since,” Micallef says of
his friendship with the octogenarian former prime minister.
“Over these last two years, Dom Mintoff asked to talk
to me on a regular basis because he wanted to keep abreast
of the negotiations with the EU. He wanted me to help him
understand what was being discussed and negotiated on each
chapter of the acquis. I did this purely on a personal basis.
“But apart from our personal friendship there is also
another aspect that few people realise. Dom Mintoff’s
intervention in the political scene over these last two
years was intended to push for a better negotiated treaty,
something, which I could understand. Maybe because I was
so close to the negotiating process through my employment
at the Commission, I understood how things could have been
done better and on this count I could identify with the
ideas expressed by Mintoff. The discourse to improve the
conditions of membership is one that corresponds with the
commitment that Malta should have to make a success of membership.”
I insist with Micallef that re-negotiating the EU Treaty
is impossible because it is an agreement agreed and signed
by all 25 member states. He defends his position: “The
EU changes all the time. Opportunities to improve on the
agreement that was negotiated will always arise. Legislation
that originates from the European Parliament is continuous
and always builds on the negotiated acquis. It is necessary
for Maltese representatives in the parliament, alongside
the work done in the Council of Ministers at a government
level, to propose changes necessary so that in the evolution
of the EU, Malta’s national interest is always safeguarded.
The discourse today is that we can improve on what was negotiated
and that can be achieved.”
Micallef sees no conflict between his moderate outlook and
his flirtations with Mintoff’s FMI. “Today as
a country we need to be committed to make a success of membership.
This commitment has to involve everybody. I am ready to
collaborate with anybody who is ready to improve the conditions
of membership, irrespective of what image the person may
have.
“Anybody who is ready to work to better Malta’s
future must be welcome. The discourse of whether Malta should
join or not the EU does not interest me because it is a
non-issue after last year’s election. The fact that
Mintoff and Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici, two ex-prime ministers
who served the country for so long, are giving me their
backing is an honour for me.”
Micallef insists that commitment is required on the economic
front to ensure Malta has a long-term strategy that implements
the obligations arising from the negotiated treaty.
“We have to have an economy that is working well and
the administrative capacity to implement legislation as
it comes our way. If Malta does not have an economic strategy
that makes sense and that permits us to reduce the deficit
to an acceptable level and encourage foreign investment,
we will falter.
“Government is not prepared and not competent enough
to manage an economy in today’s competitive environment.
Former colleagues of mine at the Commission ask me how it
is possible for the country not to have a finance minister
distinct from the Prime Minister. They see this as lack
of economic leadership.”
Another issue Micallef constantly raises is security and
believes government has done very little to safeguard Malta’s
security within the context of an ever-developing EU common
foreign and security policy.
“The declaration attached to the Accession Treaty
about neutrality has no legal value. It does not oblige
the EU to recognise Malta’s neutrality. One can argue
that this is not an issue today because member states still
have a veto on foreign and security policy. But the EU’s
aim is to change this situation. The Labour Party agrees
that the EU should have a stronger voice in international
diplomacy by speaking with a common voice, but this should
not threaten Malta’s security in any way. It is important
to get a legally binding assurance on neutrality from now
through diplomacy to avoid any risk in the future of having
to use our veto to prevent changes that may have a negative
impact on our country. Using the veto could have political
and economic consequences.”
What type of assurance is Micallef talking about?
“There are various ways in which we can obtain an
assurance on our neutrality including a declaration by the
Council of Ministers, which is of a legal value,”
he explains.
The EU Constitution is still alien to most people in Malta
and although no agreement has yet been reached by the 25
member states there is an EU-wide movement to have the final
draft of the Constitution approved through an EU-wide referendum.
Micallef believes a referendum should be held. “The
more opportunities for people to express their views on
issues related to the development of the EU the better because
it helps raise awareness on the subject. But this has to
be done in the context of a mature discussion in the country
with all information made available. From what I see from
the electoral campaign conducted by the PN, their discourse
is not focused to help people understand the implications
and issues related to membership and this is deceptive.”
