BIRKIRKARA, Malta -- Victoria Mayor, Dr Samuel Azzopardi, and Xagħra Mayor, Joe Cordina, are two of the five members representing Malta on the European Union’s Committee of the Regions – the EU’s Assembly of regional and local representatives. They form part of an active and visible representation in the EU’s advisory body who act as the voice of the citizens of their respective regions and local communities.
Mr Cordina (Head of the Maltese delegation at the Committee of the Regions) and Dr Azzopardi (Member of the Maltese delegation) took part in the debate, ‘The Europe I want to live in’ organised by MEUSAC on Friday, August 23 at Marsalforn, as part of a series of events marking the European Year of Citizens 2013. Both mayors spoke about their contribution within the Committee of the Regions in aspects such as connectivity between regions, local governance, the environment, education and culture, the social aspect, the economy, and small and medium size enterprises (SMEs).
Another speaker on the panel, Dar Ġużeppa Debono Director Ms Maria Attard, spoke about the Foundation which supports single mothers in Gozo. Ms Attard explained how the Foundation has been responding to social problems for the last 28 years, and how EU funds ensured a higher level of services offered. She also said that EU funds were instrumental for the project Ilwien which consists of a research study and an awareness campaign aimed at a particular category of students. According to Ms Attard, the Foundation’s success is due to “the commitment towards giving dignity to the people we work with and help them become aware of their responsibilities”.
The speakers agreed that the best way to tackle social problems is to create more jobs and attract more investment, as this would ensure that less people end up searching for work away from Gozo. They also emphasized the importance of accessibility and argued that investment in Gozo should not be an extension to that in Malta, but distinct and specific in nature.
Participants raised a number of issues: the importance of raising awareness of the citizens on EU related matters; more opportunities for citizens to participate effectively in the EU decision making; clearer policies on Gozo by both political parties; the need for a greater effort to ensure that Gozo benefits more from the EU; more EU funds specifically aimed at NGOs; and the importance of a Gozo-specific agenda.
The panel members reacted to these interventions and expressed their views about the kind of Europe they want to live in: a Europe in which citizens are more engaged in the democratic participation at all levels of governance; a Europe wherein the most important element is not EU funds but the principles upon which the EU is built - solidarity, regional governance and subsidiarity; a Europe with a bottom-up approach to governance at all levels – EU, national, regional and local; a Europe with strong leaders who strive to strengthen the EU’s values.
The theme of the next citizens’ debate will be, ‘Europe without borders’, and will take place on Friday 13 September in Bugibba. These activities and others which will take place over the coming months are funded by the EU through the Management Partnership between MEUSAC (https://www.facebook.com/meusacmalta) and the European Commission.
MEUSAC (http://www.meusac.gov.mt/) is the national coordinator of the European Year of Citizens 2013.
