As leaders of the EU 27 get ready for the final round of talks on the multi-billion euro rescue package designed to shore up economies across the Union, the destiny of the European Single Market is being formed.
The videoconference between the EU’s capitals will be robbed of the grandeur and circumstance that EU Summits normally serve, but the outcomes promise to make this event one of the most important in the EU’s 60-year history.
The recovery from Covid-19 has suddenly given fresh scope to the European Project and its 500 million citizens are renewing their common ambition for cross-border solidarity. The €540 billion package proposed by the European Council and EU Commission and firmly backed by the European Parliament, brings three strategies into one coherent whole: the response to the pandemic, the EU Green Deal and the bloc’s seven-year budget. More importantly, it thrusts the EU family onto a growth path driven by forward-looking ideas, particularly resource-efficiency and digital transformation.
This unfolding landscape should find the enthusiasm of both established and emerging businesses in Malta. First of all because, despite our modest size, we are an integral part of the European system and our 16 years as members have shown that we are more than capable of taking the lead in specific areas. Secondly, and more importantly, the double-engine of green economy and digital evolution plays to our strengths and needs.
Environmental challenges in the widest sense of the term are much more pronounced on a semi-arid and densely-populated island like ours, but the general feeling is that shortcomings in this department are catching up with us fast. The country’s determination to transform sectors like construction, mobility, and food production into more sustainable enterprises will now find the full force of European collaboration behind it.
Meanwhile, a convinced transition to a digital reality will connect us to a bigger economic network and level out some of the obstacles that hinder our competition with states on the mainland. Malta is not unfamiliar with the virtual world, and bold steps have been taken over the years to exploit the benefits of cyber tech; however, the outbreak is showing that there is still a long way to go for our businesses to take control of that space.
The coronavirus emergency has given policymakers the impetus to articulate the future of Europe. It is now up to our businesses to bring it to life.
