The framing of European values and Malta’s membership in the European Union

Abstract

European values are the main principles and beliefs which led to the establishment and development of the European Union. These European values have historical and cultural roots and were seen as essential to promote peace and prosperity in Europe after the end of the Second World War. These values, including democracy, human rights, and the rule of law, were influenced by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The latter was adopted in 1948, and the European Convention of Human Rights, which was adopted in 1950. European values have been consistently promoted by the European Union and member states including Malta. Malta is the smallest member state of the European Union. For decades, the main political parties fought over whether Malta should join the European Union. One of the tools which the Nationalist Party used to legitimise its position for seeking membership was these European values. After Malta joined the European Union in 2004, it was the Labour Party which successfully framed the progressive European values to legitimise the need to safeguard civil liberties in the country. This paper will evaluate the framing of European values in Malta. It will analyse how these values were employed by the main political parties to legitimize their electoral programs. Using Eurobarometer surveys, the paper will also consider Maltese citizens’ perceptions of European values and whether these perceptions have been shaped by the way political parties framed these values over the decades.