Honoris Causa Degree conferred on the President of Malta

A Council for the Mediterranean having both a political and a social dimension is needed to promote a Mediterranean "reality"; a sense of Mediterranean identity that has so far escaped us and that should serve to make of this sea one that unites, rather than divides its people.

This was the theme expounded by H.E. Prof. Guido de Marco, President of Malta, in his oration delivered on Monday at the majestic Palazzo Reale of Caserta, before being conferred with an "honoris causa" degree in law by the Seconda Universit'? degli Studi di Napoli.

The decision to confer this "honoris causa" degree on Prof. de Marco was taken unanimously by the university's Faculty of Law. The degree was personally conferred by the Minister for Universities and Research, the Hon. Ortensio Zecchino, in the presence of the Rector, Prof. Antonio Grella and the academic body, as well as a number of rectors of the other universities of Naples and Prof. Roger Ellul Micallef, Rector of the University of Malta.

Explaining the motivation for the conferment of the degree, the Dean of the Faculty of Law, Prof. Gaetano Franciosi, paid tribute to the "distinguished law scholar who is also an esteemed political personality both in his country and internationally." Prof. Franciosi stated this degree was "an opportunity for the academic world to unite and include the participation of society to pay tribute to someone who has had such a high profile career, opening new routes along the long itinerary of knowledge and also in relations among people, especially relations among Mediterranean peoples."

In his oration, entitled ‘Valorizzando il Mediterraneo' (‘Valuing the Mediterranean'), Prof. de Marco developed the proposal for a Council of the Mediterranean, an initiative he first put forward in 1990 in Algiers, then as Minister of Foreign Affairs.

"It would be investing in disaster if we were to turn the Mediterranean into a sea that divides us rather than one that unites us," Prof. de Marco said.

The President discussed three questions that must be tackled with urgency, as they would determine a political future that values the Mediterranean: "Does the Mediterranean have its own personality? Do the riparian states have a common Mediterranean policy? In what manner does a Mediterranean policy of the riparian states differ from the partnership between the European Union and non-member Mediterranean states?"

Prof. de Marco argued that although the Mediterranean does not have an identity of its own, it could have its own personality in the political, economic and social sense. The riparian states have common interests, common concerns and a common heritage. Building on this commonality, the states of the Mediterranean can develop a shared political platform having also an economic and social dimension. The two sides of the Mediterranean have their particular political, economic and security adhesions. But there is still a lacuna: "the Mediterranean reality eludes us".

The President stated the political necessity of a Council for the Mediterranean arises from the need of bringing together an area, which, though complex in itself, has the advantage of geographic vicinity, and is built on a common heritage. This council should have a political dimension with a committee of ministers and a parliamentary assembly complemented by a social dimension that promotes the people to people approach. This, Prof. de Marco added, can be realised through the intensification of Mediterranean tourism and trade, through the knowledge of Mediterranean languages and the twinning of communities and schools that would facilitate the dialogue.

"Universities have not only a significantly important role but also the responsibility of bringing together the intelligentsia of the Mediterranean," Prof. de Marco said.

"Living on the eve of the third millennium of the Year of the Lord (Anno Domini) is a unique challenge. Since the era of the Pax Romana, this mare nostrum has been constantly looking for a lasting peace. The onus that History puts upon this generation is the building of a Pax Mediterranea. The universities of the region must also give their contribution towards this."

The President, accompanied by Mrs de Marco, arrived in Italy on Sunday and started his official engagements with a visit to the Seconda Universit'?'s Jean Monnet Academy of EU Law and Economics at the Belvedere of San Leucio, on the outskirts of Caserta. The Rector of the Seconda Universit'? Degli Studi di Napoli, Prof. Antonio Grella, welcomed the President's visit to Caserta as another step forward towards a scientific co-operation, which is fundamental for the development of the Southern European system. The director of the Academy, Prof. Gaetano Liccardo, looked forward to further collaboration between the Seconda Universit'? degli Studi di Napoli and Malta.

The President was made honorary citizen of Caserta.

At the Jean Monnet Academy, Prof. Grella and the Rector of the Univeristy of Malta, Prof. Roger Ellul Micallef, signed another agreement for exchange of students and staff between the two universities and the setting up of a joint commission that will look into the possibility of mutual recognition of university degrees.

On Tuesday evening the President delivers the closing address at the inauguration of the University of Malta's Link Campus in Rome. Former Italian President Francesco Cossiga delivers a prolusion entitled ‘Fra democrazia e totalitarismi: la lezione di un secolo difficile' (‘Between democracy and totalitarisms: the lesson of a difficult century').