The effects of European Union membership on diplomacy : with emphasis on Maltese diplomacy

Abstract

The year 2004 will always be remembered as the year of European Union enlargement. For the Maltese people Malta's accession after long months of discussion and debate finally culminated in a referendum and subsequently Membership. Behind the scenes there was much gruelling preparation going on to meet these new challenges. Much restructuring was necessary in the governmental and diplomatic structures of Malta. The most significant and most important event in the Maltese diplomatic history was taking place. It is with this picture in mind that I explored the title of my thesis: The effects of European Union membership on Diplomacy: With emphasis on Maltese Diplomacy with the purpose of better understanding this evolving European Union, now with twenty-five Members States and how it impacts' on Diplomacy as we know it both at the international and state levels. In my work it becomes increasingly evident that the European Union is challenging traditional diplomacy and is establishing in itself a new diplomacy that is paving the way for the ever-increasing important role the European Union is playing in international affairs. A concluding chapter on the Maltese dimension and documentation on the intense necessary diplomatic restructuring that took place in the recent years provides a source of information for future studies in this otherwise sparsely documented area.