Toespraak Barroso in parlement van Malta (en)

"Malta: at the heart of Europe's past, at the heart of Europe's future"

Address to the Maltese Parliament

Valletta, 15 June 2007

Ladies and gentlemen,

Thank you for inviting me to address you. It is a great honour to be here, and I look forward to a full and frank exchange of views with you in a moment.

But before then, let me firstly express my deep pleasure that next week I will go to the European Council and propose that Malta adopts the euro from 1 January 2008. That is a remarkable achievement for Malta. Your preparations have been excellent. You deserve euro membership - and I think you will benefit from the euro as an anchor of stability and security.

Let me briefly outline three main messages I bring to you today:

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  Malta's accession to the European Union has been a huge success story - both for Malta and the EU;

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  Malta is well-placed to thrive in the new, outward-looking Europe of opportunity that we are now building;

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  And finally, Malta should be able to rely on the solidarity, just as any other member state, that has always been a defining principle of Europe.

Let's take a closer look at that first message. Enlargement of the EU not just to Malta, but also to central and eastern Europe, and Cyprus, has proved to be a major source of strength for Europe. The Europe of 27, today, counts for much more than the Europe of 12 or 15. Yes, there were the doubters and the pessimists, but the evidence has silenced them.

A Europe of 27 speaks with true authority on the world stage. Malta has, through its membership of the EU, a sustained voice in international affairs. Europe allows Malta to leverage its size and 'punch above its weight'. Malta is a respected, proactive member of the European family, with strong and growing public support for the EU.

Maltese accession has benefited Europe by strengthening the Mediterranean dimension of the EU. This is a positive development - the potential for co-operation and growth in the Mediterranean area is huge. I know, this also puts you in the front line when we have issues with our neighbours to the south. But I will come back to this point.

Maltese accession has also strengthened the maritime dimension of the EU - an issue very close to my Portuguese heart! I have worked closely with Commissioner Joe Borg in this area, and salute his efforts in forging an ambitious maritime package, which will be brought before the Commission in October. This package has my full support, and I expect Malta to derive major benefits from it, as you would expect from a country with Malta's geography.

My second message relates to Malta's potential to reap the full benefits of all the changes taking place in Europe and, indeed, the world.

Malta is already beginning to enjoy the fruits of a strong recovery in the EU economy and job market. Real GDP in the EU grew by some 3% last year - its fastest growth rate since 2000. Employment growth accelerated to around 1.6%, meaning that Europe created close to 3.4 million new jobs. In the period 2006-2008, 9 million new jobs are forecast. Inflation is still around the 2% mark.

Malta is also starting to feel the benefit of the reforms flowing from the renewed Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Jobs. These reforms are already helping Europe to increase its potential for growth. Malta has worked hard to make the necessary structural changes to its economic and social policies, in order to promote tomorrow's growth. It deserves recognition for the sometimes tough decisions it has made.

But I would make a strong plea for more progress in one area in particular: the employment of women. At the moment, Malta has the EU's lowest rate of female participation in the labour market - 34%! This figure is far below the Lisbon target of 60%. But putting dry statistics to one side for a moment, look at it this way: Malta is denying itself the full benefit of one of its key resources - its women. For sound social and economic reasons, this area merits attention.

Malta will soon consolidate its strong position, given that it is firmly on track to adopt the euro. This will allow Malta to share the benefits of a currency which has enjoyed international stability and delivered low inflation and competitive interest rates for businesses and home-owners since its inception. Let no-one underestimate the importance of this: the euro has underpinned economic stability and shielded us against external shocks and financial turbulence.

To reach this point, Malta has had to work hard to revitalise its economy and put its public finances back on track.

The result will be, I hope, euro membership.

My final message relates to the central role of solidarity in the European project.

In illustrating the continuing need for EU solidarity, let me return to the sad events of recent weeks - involving boatloads of immigrants from our neighbours further south.

These events are a human tragedy for desperate people who are ruthlessly and unforgivably exploited. They put tremendous pressures on countries, such as Malta, which have to confront successive waves of human misery.

I understand the frustrations of the Maltese and your difficult situation , given your size and the demands put on your search and rescue teams, who have to work round the clock on limited resources, coping with large numbers of immigrants. And here I would like to pay tribute to the Maltese authorities for taking in well over 300 illegal immigrants in peril at sea in the last few weeks alone.

Many people in the rest of Europe are simply unaware that the search and rescue area (SAR) under the jurisdiction of Malta is larger than the land mass of the UK! Clearly this is disproportionate to the current resources at the disposal of your country.

Naturally, it goes without saying that all Member States must ensure that international law is respected and that human lives are saved at sea.

But the EU must turn the principle of solidarity into action, by providing help to Malta and other Member States in managing the influx of illegal immigrants.

We have come a long way even from when Malta acceded in 2004. For example

First, Frontex will start a new operation off the coast of Malta by the end of June. The Libyan authorities have been invited to participate and we hope that they will send one official to this operation. We have already doubled the personnel and tripled the budget of FRONTEX last year; and I set out today my intention that the the European Patrols Network, which started operations on 24 May, should become from 1 January 2008 a permanent tool available at the request of member states to curb illegal immigration across the Mediterranean and along the South-West Atlantic coasts and to detect emergencies at sea, thus reducing loss of life.

Second, we plan to draw up practical guidelines for managing the EU's external borders as soon as we can, covering search and rescue operations and the interception of vessels;

Third, we now have agreement to modify the European Refugee Fund, coming into force on 1 January 2008, to include a special reserve which can be unblocked when a Member State receives an enormous influx of illegal immigrants. Moreover, there are resources now available to help member states in an emergency with the handling of an overwhelming influx of migrants. These might be of particular interest to a country like Malta, given the pressures on your resources.

Finally, we are addressing the longer term "push factors", for example through our approach to Africa; migration must be a central theme of the EU-Africa Summit later this year. And we are addressing the pull factors, for example through The recent adoption by the Commission of a proposal for sanctions against employers of third-country nationals who are illegally staying in the European Union.

The Commission cannot solve all the problems, not least because we do not have boats or planes. But I recognize that more must be done. Some political resistance is yet to be overcome. I have been pushing this issue hard with EU leaders for some time. I wrote to them all before they met to discuss immigration in 2005. I will continue to push this issue with EU leaders.

Let me now turn to solidarity of another kind: that between the EU institutions and national parliaments such as this Kamra tad-Deputati (House of Representatives). This Commission has launched the practice of sounding out national parliaments when it initiates policy action. We have long consulted social partners at all levels, so why exclude the nationally elected representatives of the peoples of Europe?

I recognise that this may be an ambitious plea to a parliament which presently counts 65 members. But I hope you can take this additional burden in your stride and engage fully in the European discourse. For the sake of the Maltese people. But also for the sake of Europe.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Malta is a truly remarkable country. Since the construction of ancient megalithic temples like ?gantija, more than 5,000 years of European history has played out across its 316 square kilometre territory. It reflects, in microcosm, the forces of history that have shaped us all.

Today, as a flourishing member of the European Union, it is better placed than ever to continue its historic destiny. As a crossroads of Europe. As a link between Europe and Africa. As a small nation that has made a big contribution to the world.