Already tomorrow, the Czech Republic will commemorate exactly 20 years since joining the European Union. Along with the Czech Republic, nine other countries from the Baltics and Central and Southern Europe joined the Union at that time. This group included Malta, which is still the smallest state in the European Union. The Maltese people decided to join the Union in a referendum in March 2003. The vote was characterized by a unique high turnout, and on the contrary, very low support of the population for joining the European Union.
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Valletta
10:09 a.m April 30, 2024
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Joining the EU twenty years ago divided Maltese society | Source: Profimedia
Celebrations at churches, on the roads and in the streets. Union flags flying on houses and in passing cars. Externally, Malta celebrated its entry into the European Union 21 years ago. Internally, however, it came out of the EU referendum as divided as no other European country. It was the result of a hard-fought campaign by two competing dominant political parties.
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In the end, just over half of voters voted for joining the union, 46 percent were against it. Among them is the former technician and today’s pensioner Muscat. “You know, we have hunters in our family. It’s almost a national hobby, I’d say. We were afraid that with the entry into the European Union there would also be greater regulation of hunting,” he explains.
Muscat’s family hunts pigeons and quails in Malta, which migrate across the island to Africa. Muscat’s concerns were partially justified. The European Union wanted to enforce stricter animal protection conditions, while the Maltese government, with the support of a strong hunting lobby, sought to preserve the hunting tradition.
“Maltese hunters are the group on which accession to the European Union has had the greatest impact. The European Union has strict regulations, including spring hunting bans. Earlier, when someone broke these rules, the police and the government ignored it. Now the European Parliament is sending delegations here,” explains Mark Harwood, director of the Institute of European Studies at the University of Malta.
They are doing better
Despite the initial Eurosceptic sentiments, the Maltese today support membership of the Union. According to last year’s Eurobarometer survey, 76 percent of respondents believe that they are doing better in the European Union than outside it.
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Johann is a butcher. Even thanks to its membership in the Union, it can more easily sell meat from Ireland or Italy. On the other hand, he melancholicly remembers the earlier times before joining the Union, when, he says, business was better. “Before, we sold 15 pigs and two bulls in a single week. Now how many times we don’t sell even one pig and maybe half a bull. There are ten shops on every corner. It is necessary to stop the opening of other large supermarkets,” he states.
Some residents of Malta perceive membership in the European Union as a logical continuation of the country’s historical development as well as a response to the fact that the island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea does not have significant natural resources and relies mainly on its strategic location and tourism, says Filip from the town of Balzan.
“Malta’s history has always been about living under someone’s rule or being friends with someone. There were the Arabs, the French, the Knights of Malta and the British. Now it’s the European Union,” he adds.
Fear of the wider Union
In 2008, Malta adopted the euro. Voices extolling the benefits of the common currency easily outweighed those warning against a rise in prices.
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“The Prime Minister of Malta at the time, who was also Minister of Finance, said that the adoption of the euro would help tourism and that more people would come from European countries. At the same time, he also pointed out that it will support foreign investments from, for example, Italy and Germany, which are Malta’s traditional business partners and investors,” explains Harwoon from the Institute of European Studies at the University of Malta.
The Euro thus confirmed even more the fact that Malta has become a pendant to southern Italy for many companies and foreign investors. According to the university professor, behind the scenes, the Maltese government is not interested in further expansion of the union to the east.
“If Ukraine were to join the European Union, due to its size, it would reduce the position of smaller countries. It would make sense for the Czech Republic, but for us it would mean a disruption of the balance and a transfer of attention from the Mediterranean Sea towards Central and Eastern Europe,” he explains. According to him, it would be more bearable for the Maltese government if Turkey were to join the union.
Martin Balucha
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