European integration : the Maltese experience

Abstract

Ever since the Nationalist Parry was returnee to power in May 1987, Malta EC/EU relations have dominated the Islands' political agenda. And quite rightly so, since membership of the EU implies the partial shedding of the nation state's sovereignty in favour of collective sovereignty in fact, in these past two decades, the supranational institutions of the EU have been vested with the power to represent its; member states, and take decisions and legislate on their behalf. The single market, the common European citizenship and cooperation on justice and home affairs, constitute but three realities of this politico-economic bloc. On 1 January 1999, the euro became the common currency of 12 out of the current 25 EU member states, and today the euro is the second most traded currency in the world after the US dollar. The EU speaks with one voice in international fora such as the World Trade Organization. The national governments of the EU are currently seeking agreement upon a common foreign and security policy, which for the Euro-sceptics is well neigh impossible to achieve. But many thought that the whole idea of European integration was a far-fetched dream when the Schuman Plan of 9 May 1950 proposed that France and Germany together with other European states should collaborate to establish a coal and steel community governed by a supranational High Authority. What starred as a common prospectus for two once-belligerent nations has developed into a politico-economic union of 451 million inhabitants, whose main tenets are the pursuit of peace, economic stability, socioeconomic well being, democracy, the safeguarding of human rights, and the upholding of the rule of law. This book illustrates how Malta fitted into this grand design, without overlooking the fact that integration has quite a long story in Maltese political history. In fact during the first half of the 20'h century, local politicians saw Malta as the rump of a larger nation state that could be either neighbouring Italy or imperial Britain. The reason for this way of thinking stemmed out of their conviction that Malta did not possess the human or natural resources that could enable her to achieve political independence, let alone economic viability. In the early post-war years, it was the turn of much larger European countries to realize that they were too small to fend for themselves. Indeed, the two superpowers had dwarfed the pre-war power status of countries like Britain, France and Germany. When Malta attained political independence on 21 September 1964, she had the right to seek membership of the European Community within a decade or two, as was the case with the Baltic States after they broke away from the former Soviet Union in 1991. Nevertheless, Malta's decision to join the Union proved to be a long-drawn-out experience. Indeed, her accession of the EU materialized almost 40 years after Independence Day. The aim of this book is to illustrate how Maltese politicians perceived, reacted to and accepted European integration as it developed into a pan-European phenomenon from 1945 to date. It is primarily intended for undergraduate students of European Studies and students of the political history of contemporary Europe. Since the book deals with Malta-EC/EU relations within the wider context of the Union's Mediterranean policies, it is also useful to students reading Contemporary Mediterranean Studies. The general reader who is interested in Malta's political history and/or EU affairs will find this book interesting since the subject's technical jargon and the background events that are usually assumed to be common knowledge have been footnoted and extensively explained.