ADDRESS BY THE HON. LOUIS GALEA, CO-CHAIRMAN OF THE EU-MALTA JOINT PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE, AT THE OPENING OF THE CONFERENCE ON THE MALTESE LOCAL AUTHORITIES, IN THE RUN-UP TO THE ENLARGEMENT OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, ORGANISED BY THE LOCAL COUNCIL ASSOCIATI

Allow me first of all to thank the Maltese Local Councils Association for inviting me to address the introductory session of this conference and also to congratulate the Association for taking this initiative to discuss more closely the ongoing process of Malta's accession to the European Union, as well as the wider process of enlargement. I hope that this conference will mark an important stage in a process which should also culminate in the Association's direct involvement in the European Union's Committee of Regions upon Malta's membership of the European Union.

In my brief address I shall touch upon a few points which I feel ought to be addressed in this conference in the light of its agenda and which may perhaps pose food for thought for those of you who are participating in today's conference.

The first point that I would to like to make relates to how the local councils can start gearing up for Malta's prospective membership of the European Union and this quite independently of the locally controversial political debate of whether Malta should join or not.

I believe that there are a number of ways of how this can be done. I am aware that the European Union's Committee of Regions is itself becoming increasingly pro-active in following the process of enlargement and of extending its internal debate on this subject to the candidate countries themselves. So clearly, in this regard, a direct contact with the Committee of Regions is of the essence. And it is indeed a pleasure to see that this conference is hitting the nail on the head by involving directly a number of members of the Committee of Regions.

There is an interesting parallel with the exercise that the European Parliament is undertaking with the candidate countries through the Joint Parliamentary Committeesthat it has set up. Indeed, I speak here not so much as Minister of Education of my country, but more directly as Co-Chairman of the Joint-Parliamentary Committee which involves members of the Maltese House of Representatives and members of the European Parliament.

To my mind, the essence of the Joint Parliamentary Committee is its focus on the engagement of Parliamentarians from different countries directly into the accession and enlargement debate not at a governmental levelwhere matters tend to focus on formalities and decision-making, but at a Parliamentary level where matters focus on the different points of view of different political parties and on how the whole process is seen from the grassroots level. More fundamentally, the Joint-Parliamentary Committee experience is an experience and a process which gradually but steadily builds the necessary trust that must exist between Parliamentarians coming from countries which will ultimately share a common destiny within the family of European nations. This, to my mind, adds value to participatory democracy and is certainly an experience which I, personally, and the other members of this Committee, appreciate.

The sessions of the Joint-Parliamentary Committee may seem, to the reluctant observer, as another of those occasions where Parliamentarians do what they are best known at doing – talk (!). But there is much more to it than that. There is a regular contact between representatives of different constituencies and a sharing of experiences between representatives of the electorate. This sharing of experiences helps participants from both sides understand the wider perspectives of the issues involved.

I said that there is a parallel between the Joint-Parliamentary Committee and the contact that is being established and formally endorsed today between the Maltese Local Councils Association and the European Union's Committee of Regions. It is to be hoped that the Committee of Regions can take up the model developed so effectively by the European Parliament through the Joint-Parliamentary Committee – and to apply it this time to representatives not of national Parliaments but of regional and local authorities from the different candidate countries. I believe that such a process is as important as the official side of things - which involve formal negotiations for accession - because they give substance to the idea that this process of enlargement is not merely one that brings governments closer together but more importantly one that unites the peoples of Europe.

And speaking of uniting peoples, allow me to refer to another issue which I find to be very relevant for a conference of this nature. This is the issue of subsidiaritywhich is a fundamental premise for the existence of local authorities and which is also a basic pillar of the European Union itself. In our country we are still acquainting ourselves with the idea of subsidiarity because it has been actively implemented for less than a decade. We do not have a strong tradition of subsidiarity even if we did have numerous examples of local or regional entities in the past. This, despite the fact that even in such a small country we have distinct differences between localities, different local identities and – perhaps to the surprise of our foreign guests – we also have different dialects of our national Maltese language which is the main language spoken in our country.

Yet, we are now experiencing subsidiarity through the increasingly strong system of local authorities in Malta. And guess what – the experiment has worked and it is no longer an experiment. It is now a functioning system. The local council set-up in our country is here to stay and we can hardly image life without it. Not only. But, if anything, there is only talk of strengthening them and even of enshrining the whole system as a tier of government which is expressly recognised by our Constitution.

I believe that there is again a strong parallel between local authorities and the European Union in this regard. In both cases we see a vivid application of the principle of subsidiarity – which I remind you – when first coined in the papal encyclical was put across as a fundamental principle of social philosophy. A breach of the principle of subsidiarity, it was said, "… is an injustice, a grave evil and a disturbance of right order".

That local government is a clear expression of the principle of subsidiarity is beyond question since it clearly puts decisions which can effectively be taken at lower levels of government at their proper level which is closest to the people.

But the question of the application of the principle of subsidiarity by the European Union is much more complicated and much more controversial, both from the perspective of the Committee of Regions - which was itself set up as an acknowledgement of the principle of subsidiarity – as well as from the perspective of national governments themselves. At EU level, the issue of subsidiarity is also strongly linked with the wider issue of the future political finality – the finalit'� politique – of the European Union and also with the sensitive issue of loss or otherwise of sovereignty.

I have no time to enter into the profound merits of this debate except to make a few comments which may stir more thorough debate during today's conference.

I hold that for a country such as Malta, joining the European Union is nothing short of an expression of furthering the application of the principle of subsidiarity. Of strengthening the meaning of subsidiarity for the Maltese people. And I shall explain why. It may sound contradictory for people who rightly equate subsidiarity with decisions at the lowest level possible to hear that the EU should itself be an expression of subsidiarity rather than a renunciation of it. But it is not a contradiction. On the contrary, concrete experience shows that subsidiarity can also mean that where decisions cannot be effectively taken at a lower level of government, then they ought to be taken at that level where they can be taken most effectively. Experience has shown that in a number of areas, it is just and right to take decisions at European rather than at lower levels in order to ensure that decisions are taken effectively and in the best interests of the people that are affected by them.

Take our country which, upon membership of the European Union, would be on of the small Member States, roughly equal in population size with Luxembourg. There are a number of areas which are of direct interest to the daily lives of our people that simply cannot be effectively dealt with at a national level.

There are areas where the traditional model of nation-state as we knew it, is no longer an answer to solving issues and problems that concern us and the future generations. Failing to recognise this is a mistake that is often made by those who equate EU membership with loss, rather than sharing, of sovereignty.

Take foreign policy. How realistic is it to expect that acting alone any country, including Malta, can make an effective contribution and not just a token contribution to foreign policy? Yet, this is an area which for a country such as Malta which lies at the centre of the Mediterranean region is of tremendous importance. For even if we have no major say in foreign policy, we are still affected by the tensions of our troubled region. The problems of our neighbours in the near Middle East have recently escalated to a manner which placed them in the headlines not just of our news bulletins and newspapers in Malta but also on our minds. How can we be affected if the situation does not resolve itself in the near future? How can our region be affected? And most importantly, what can we do about it? Are we altogether impotent in these changing scenarios? How can an answer be found if the traditional nation-state is not presenting itself as the solution?

This is where subsidiarity comes in. The European Union is steadily, albeit perhaps somewhat slowly, developing a foreign policy which unites the efforts of the otherwise independent European states into a single voice which can make a difference. Javier Solana's presence alongside the parties involved in the Middle East peace process is also an expression of subsidiarity since it represents an acknowledgement by European countries that alone they cannot take effective decisions, but that together they can make a difference. In Malta, when we see Solana sitting at the table that matters, we ought to ask ourselves whether sovereignty is best exercised by staying out of the European Union which is able to make a contribution to our region or by whether our sovereignty is best exercised by joining the Union and being part of the table that decides on the mandate on Mr Solana.

Clearly, in the area of foreign policy, the principle of subsidiarity is best served – and therefore the interests of the people are best served - if decisions are taken at European level.

It is for this reason that it is in Malta's interest that the European Union should have a strong foreign policy which is coherent and which is effective. As a member of the European Union, Malta too can contribute to this decision-making and therefore be in a stronger – not weaker – position to influence those decision which are of direct interest to us. This is not about presumptiously seeking power. This is not about the formality of sitting with other European ministers. This is about being there where the decisions that affect us directly are taken.

I say that, exercised in this way, our sovereignty is even stronger than if we opt to stay out.

I spoke about foreign policy because it is a clear-cut example which is easy to understand. But there are other areas where common European action is justified on the basis of the principle of subsidiarity. The environment, trade, mobility and research are but a few.

There are also other areas where the defining line is less clear and where there is an ongoing debate for the governments of the European Union to start thinking about defining substantively which powers should lie at national level and which powers should lie at European level. This is a debate which has long been awaiting answers. It is a very sensitive debate which can often be lined with controversy and even acrimony. But it is a debate which is of direct and profound interest to countries which aspire to join the European Union, including Malta. Clearly, therefore the participation of candidate countries in such a debate is more than justified.

I have addressed the parallel that I find between the European level of governance and the level of local government using the principle of subsidiarity.

But there are other concrete ways in which local governments can hook on to the European Union and to the process which is moving our country ever closer to this Union.

An obvious example is the EU programmes in a number of different areas which are becoming increasingly open and available to the participation, whether direct or indirect, of local authorities. This is an area which is of direct interest to my work as Minister of Education where this year I have had the pleasure of seeing Malta finally becoming involved as a full participant of these programmes by virtue of its status as a candidate country for EU membership. We have already launched the EU education programme – known as Socrates – which also includes an action – the Comenius action – which focuses on school education and which therefore can and should be of direct interest to local councils. Several Maltese students and an increasing number of schools are already deeply engaged in different projects which are supported by the Socrates programme. In the coming months, more and more schools will join in as they witness the fruitful experience of others.

Next month we shall be formally launching Malta's participation in the EU programme on vocational training known as Leonardo da Vinci. Again, this is a programme which can be of interest to certain local councils which have in their locality specific concerns on training and employment which may benefit from an exposure to this programme.

We have also launched Malta's participation in the EU's research programme and next year I am very much looking forward to launching Malta's participation in the EU's Youth Action programme and the EU's programme on Culture, known as Culture 2000.

All of these programmes can provide new opportunities for local councils to widen their contacts and their horizons and in particular the latter two programmes – on youth and on culture – where the interest of local councils is clearly more direct. I am sure that those local councils that are willing to engage themselves in these programmes will be increasingly taking the necessary initiative to participate and to benefit from new experiences. Other countries have experiences a snowball effect in the growing interest of local councils in EU initiatives. These initiatives and participation in them will grow as we approach membership and will, of course, culminate upon actual membership.

Participation in EU programmes is in itself – and I must stress this – a concrete and practical way of preparing our country, including at the local level, for EU accession because it exposes us directly to the meaning of EU membership which at the end of the day is more than anything else the conscious decision of accepting to live in a world where the meaning of frontiers has all but lost its significance.

Allow me to conclude by once again thanking you for giving me the opportunity to address your opening session. I must admit that I find the subject that you are discussing fascinating because I strongly believe that the process of the enlargement of the European Union is not about governments or about politicians but it is about people. Enlargement is about bringing people from all over Europe together.

Regrettably, for reasons we are all aware of, this subject has been locally dominated controversially in a way that may sometimes have appeared to stifle the real debate – such as the one that you are addressing today. I do not agree that Europe should be the sole domain of politicians. However, on a positive note, I do note a very important and clear emergence of civil society in the local debate on EU accession and on EU enlargement. Non-governmental organisations and now local authorities are increasingly taking up the agenda and putting across their points of view. And doing so assertively. This trend is likely to grow as the process of accession advances further and becomes more intense.

The day will soon come when the politicians' lead in the debate on Europe will be overshadowed by the lead of civil society.

And to demonstrate my personal endorsement of that comment, I shall conclude my c