Letters • January 04 2004

Is the EU dream doomed?

Jean Agius
Attard

By mid 2004 the total population of the EU will be over 450 million stretching from Lapland to Sicily to Malta.
For the pro-Europeans it was a fantastic vision, mainly to build a common future where we will live together peacefully. I am, however, surprised now as to how many have changed their minds about this vision both in Malta and abroad. I also recall Dom Mintoff’s warnings regarding the threat to our neutrality and to our Constitution. I also remember him telling me that we deserve a better deal and a better package than the one Fenech Adami got.
Well, time will tell us who is right or wrong and who was true to his country. It now clearly seems that Europe is plunging into a clash of interests that may prove inconsolable.
May the goddess Europa now come to our rescue. Gerhard Schroeder warned lately that the smaller countries must be forced into line; does this mean, after all, that despite those amazing promises about being in the EU, our voting power will be diminished drastically? It is a fact that we Europeans have a lot in common, we all believe in a social contract including a national health service and state education. In countries like Malta and Poland we had the impression that Europe was a ‘cow’ and we could all get milk from it. We are obviously going to feel the pinch.
I was further amazed to read about Poland’s Leszek Miller protesting harshly, and then also to read about the opinion of pro-European Will Hutton who now is also lamenting the killing of a noble vision by the greed and cynism of member states. This is very confusing indeed. Now using the words of Mr Hutton who said: "we are drowning in a sea of mutual spite and the legalistic legacy of successive treaties.”, I would further ask again whether Dom Mintoff was right or not when he warned that even written agreements and promises will or might be broken with successive treaties? There’s nothing much that we can do now and I just hope for the best for our country, but then EFA will solve it, I am sure he will find a way.