Roderick Pace

Malta and EU Membership: Overcoming ‘Vulnerabilities’, Strengthening ‘Resilience’

Abstract Malta, a very small state, a micro–state, has never resigned itself to smallness. The nature of such states’ vulnerability is seen as both inherent and contingent. Micro states can by following prudent domestic policies and by strategically positioning themselves in the regional and global system, strengthen their resilience to both these types of vulnerability. This article outlines how the EU may ‘enlarge’ such states in both economic and security–political terms. It offers such states increased opportunities for dealing with the social, economic, environmental and security challenges which they face thus helping them to reduce their vulnerabilities while increasing their resilience to exogenous and endogenous shocks.

South European integration watch : the Maltese electorate turns a new leaf? The first European Parliament election in Malta

Maltas first European Parliament election was as hotly contested as the national elections. Turnout was third highest in the EU. The traditionally pro-EU Nationalist Party in government secured only two of the five seats contested, while the Opposition MLP, which up to last year opposed membership, took the other three. Since November 2003, the MLP has changed course on Europe and has joined the Party of European Socialists. Voter participation and a revealed preference towards candidates with Europeanist credentials show that support for EU membership has solidified, as supported by public opinion surveys. Support for the EU has increased from just under 53 per cent to around 80 per cent, enabling Malta to steer a steadier course in the EU.

Parliaments and Civil Society Cooperation in the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership

Roderick Pace is director of the European Documentation and Research Centre at the University of Malta. Stelios Stavridis holds an Onassis Foundation Fellowship at the Hellenic Centre for European Studies in Athens and is honorary fellow in the Hellenic Observatory of the LSE European Institute in London. Dimitris K. Xenakis is strategic analyst at the Defense Analysis Institute in Athens. He holds an honorary research fellowship from the Department of Politics at the University of Exeter and teaches international relations and Euro-Mediterranean politics in the Department of Political Science at the University of Crete. The views expressed here do not necessarily coincide with those of any of the above institutions. Parliaments and Civil Society Cooperation in the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership

Malta: Euroscepticism in a Polarised Polity

From the candidate country in the EUs 2004 Enlargement with the lowest levels of support for EU membership, the situation in Malta has changed since accession so that all mainstream political parties now support membership. After presenting factors influencing attitudes to Europe, the article analyses party euroscepticism from Maltese independence in 1964 to the present, focusing on the Malta Labour Party. The examination of public opinion focuses on the period before and after the 2003 referendum on EU membership. The significant role of the eurosceptic media is also noted.

Growing Secularisation in a Catholic Society: The Divorce Referendum of 28 May 2011 in Malta

The divorce referendum held in Malta on 28 May 2011 was another watershed in Maltese politics, particularly because it confirmed the secularising trends in Maltese society and exposed the complicated cleavages within the Maltese electorate. The result was a major political embarrassment for the ultra-conservative Prime Minister and leader of the Nationalist Party, particularly after he doggedly voted against the divorce bill in parliament notwithstanding the referendum result. The Catholic Church was also embarrassed after leading an aggressive ‘no’ campaign that did not resonate with the demands of society or the expectations of progressive Catholics. While the issue has severely affected the ruling Nationalist Partys chances of winning the next general election, due in the first quarter of 2013, it may have forced the Church finally to contemplate serious reforms.

The Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly, 2004 – 2008: Assessing the First Years of the Parliamentary Dimension of the Barcelona Process

Parliamentarization is an under-studied dimension of Euro-Mediterranean relations. A preliminary assessment of the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly shows that the parliamentary process is not unique to the Mediterranean. The origins, aims, and objectives of the EMPA are presented, as are its structure and functions during its first four years of existence. Despite many weaknesses and limitations, the EMPA can play an important role in Euro-Mediterranean relations, but in order for it to do so, both its structures and functions need to be strengthened.

Malta's 2008 Election: A Vote for Continuity and Change

The 2008 Malta election confirmed the Nationalist Party in power for a third consecutive term, but with a much reduced majority. It also instigated a change of leadership in the opposition Malta Labour Party and the subsequent election of a new leader from amongst the ranks of its MEPs. Unlike national elections in most other EU member states, EU membership featured very strongly in this election but in a peculiarly different way than it did in previous ones. Voter participation at 92.5% was below the 2003 rate of 95.96% and 1.32% less than the 1966-2008 average.

Europeanisation of health systems: a qualitative study of domestic actors in a small state

BackgroundHealth systems are not considered to be significantly influenced by European Union (EU) policies given the subsidiarity principle. Yet, recent developments including the patients’ rights and cross-border directive (2011/24 EU), as well as measures taken following the financial crisis, appear to be increasing the EU’s influence on health systems. The aim of this study is to explore how health system Europeanisation is perceived by domestic stakeholders within a small state.MethodsA qualitative study was conducted in the Maltese health system using 33 semi-structured interviews. Inductive analysis was carried out with codes and themes being generated from the data.ResultsEU membership brought significant public health reforms, transformation in the regulation of medicines and development of specialised training for doctors. Health services financing and delivery were primarily unaffected. Stakeholders positively perceived improvements to the policy-making process, networking opportunities and capacity building as important benefits. However, the administrative burden and the EU’s tendency to adopt a ‘one size fits all’ approach posed considerable challenges. The lack of power and visibility for health policy at the EU level is a major disappointment. A strong desire exists for the EU to exercise a more effective role in ensuring access to affordable medicines and preventing non-communicable diseases. However, the EU’s interference with core health system values is strongly resisted.ConclusionsOverall domestic stakeholders have a positive outlook regarding their health system Europeanisation experience. Whilst welcoming further policy developments at the EU level, they believe that improved consideration must be given to the specificities of small health systems.

Changing Capitalism in the Arab and Muslim World

As the ‘Arab Spring’ turns into winter, the literature on the causes of the revolts and their aftermath has grown steadily. The general thrust of most books is that the 2011 Arab uprisings exposed ...

Malta’s Foreign Policy in the 1990s

The theoretical tools for the analysis of Malta’s foreign policy draw from two basic and complementary trends in the study of international relations: the theories of international relations (IR) and foreign policy analysis (FPA). Reference will be made to the evolution of Malta’s foreign policy since independence with an eye to showing the roots of some of today’s policy decisions and choices. The next step will involve extra-polating from these findings to determine the likelihood of these trends being maintained, or changed, to the end of the 1990s. The task will be encumbered by the fact that in the case of Malta, one is dealing with the behaviour of a microstate in the international system and the theories of the behaviour of micro-states in international relations remains rather undeveloped. There appears enough circumstantial evidence to suggest that this can be blamed on the influence of realist theory in international relations. Once power in its most general meaning becomes the central concept of analysis, then micro-states, which individually and collectively have so little power in the world, tend to pale into insignificance as a subject of academic analysis.