Ten years of Malta’s EU membership - the impact on Maltese environmental NGOs

This paper investigates the impact of Malta’s European Union (EU) accession on Environmental NGOs (ENGOs). For this purpose, environmental politics in relation to Malta’s EU accession are analysed. This is carried out by focusing on a selection of issues involving Environmental Non-Governmental Organizations (ENGOs) (land development; climate change; hunting of birds and fishing of ‘blue fin’ tuna), as well as through data involving interviews with ENGO representatives. This paper verifies whether EU accession has effected lobbying by ENGOs; whether EU accession has enhanced the empowerment of ENGOs; and whether EU accession has led to the institutionalisation of ENGOs.peer-reviewe

Governing climate change in the Mediterranean : fragmentation in dialogue, markets and funds

The article analyses the challenges of interregional cooperation for the two regional secretariats in the Mediterranean – the Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean and the Secretariat of the Mediterranean Action Plan – in the policy fields of climate change mitigation and adaptation. Mediterranean climate governance is structured around complex governance arrangements, where multiple actors attempt to integrate the issue of climate change. However, the lack of financial commitments for long-term infrastructure investments and bilateral differentiation under the EU’s Neighbourhood Policy undermine region-wide cooperation. As a result, fragmentation in dialogue, markets and funds challenge the efforts of regional institutions in each climate sector and lead to variable governing outcomes. KEY WORDS Climate Change Governance, Climate Change Mitigation, Climate Change Adaptation, Southern Neighbourhood, Euro-Mediterranean relations, North Africapeer-reviewe

Ten years of EU membership - the Maltese Parliament

The European Union has long seen the use of enlargement as a means to transform its neighbours. For many of the 2004 enlargement countries, membership was a means to open economically and politically. For Malta and Cyprus, established democracies with extensive trade links across Europe, EU membership still had the capacity to transform their political and economic systems and hence the need, a decade on, to take stock. With this in mind and conscious that the EU political system has often raised concerns over legitimacy and accountability, attention is increasingly being focused on how the complexities of the EU political system, and the role national governments play in that system, impacts the legitimacy and accountability of the domestic political system, in particular the functioning of the national parliament. To this end, this paper will analyse how the Maltese Parliament has been impacted by membership and seek to establish whether there has been a significant alteration in its ability to hold the national executive to account.peer-reviewe

The 2011 constitutional reform in Morocco : more flaws than merits

In this paper the author argues against the idea, according to which Morocco should be considered a model in the region, and in particular shows that the constitution-making process, the 2011 Constitution and its subsequent implementation have more flaws than merits.peer-reviewe

Malta transformed by multi-level governance : more than just an outcome of Europeanisation

Malta has been transformed in many ways with and by EU Membership. This paper goes beyond the more obvious impacts of ‘Europeanisation’ and instead reviews the implications of an explosion of multi-level governance on doing politics in Malta. While for most of its recent political history, there has been a clawing back of power by the central government – as when the Gozo Civic Council (1960-1973), an early foray into regional government, was “unceremoniously dissolved” in 1973 – this trend was reversed with the setting up of local councils as from 1994, an advisory Malta Council for Economic and Social Development (MCESD) in 2001, and then EU membership in 2004. These events have created a profligacy of decision-making tiers and multiplied the tensions that exist between different levels of governance in this small archipelago state. Malta has never experienced such pluralism before. In fact, since 1966, only two political parties have been represented in the national legislature and, therefore, there has been no division of powers between the executive and the national parliament. This paper reviews the implications of these developments on two hot political issues in 2014: the International Investor Programme (IIP) proposed by the Labour Government in its 2014 Budget; and the location of a Liquid Natural Gas (LNG)-storage vessel inside Marsaxlokk harbour. Keywords: democratisation; europeanisation; individual investment scheme; liquid natural gas tanker; Malta; multi-level governance; state; total politicspeer-reviewe

Iceland’s contested European Policy : the footprint of the past - a small and insular society

This paper will address the political developments in Iceland since the 2008 economic crash and place it in a historical context. The aim is to understand Iceland’s present foreign policy and, in particular, the highly contested decision by its government in 2009 to apply for membership of the European Union.peer-reviewe

Governance in the EU member states : evidence from three global indicators

This paper assesses governance in twenty-eight EU Member States (EUMS) by comparing these states among themselves and with the rest of the world, utilising three indicators relating to political, economic and social governance. The main contributions of this paper on the issue of governance are three. First the paper includes economic and social governance in the meaning of the term “governance”. Studies on governance generally use indicators associated with politics and public administration. Secondly, it attempts to place the governance scores of the EU Member states, as a block, in an international context. Thirdly, the study tries to explain why GDP growth and governance indicators are often found to be negatively correlated. Keywords: Governance, European Union, Economic Growth, Corruption, Institutionspeer-reviewe

Migration in the Central Mediterranean

This paper analyses some of the aspects of migration in the central Mediterranean focusing on the link between the domestic and international politics of the issue in Italy and Malta and contrasting the different approaches taken.peer-reviewe

The Catholic identity of Malta after ten years of membership in the European Union : challenges and prospects

Ten years have elapsed since Malta’s accession in the European Union. One can still recall vividly the intense and acrimonious campaign prior to the membership referendum and the ensuing electoral victory that confirmed the Nationalist Party (PN) in power under the leadership of Edward Fenech Adami in 2003. In both cases the Maltese voted in favour of entry into the EU. During both exercises in democracy the Maltese were exposed to the rhetoric of both prophets of doom and prophets of plenty. For the former accession meant a loss of national and territorial independence, for the latter it meant the beginning of opportunity for all and, in some cases, the answer to all of Malta’s woes. Now, ten years later, a further appraisal of Malta’s membership and place in the European Union is called for. The purpose of this paper, however, is to reflect upon how this membership has affected the Roman Catholic Church in Malta and what prospects lie ahead for the Catholic community within Maltese society that remains in a state of constant flux on both the social and the religious level. It traces the major events that have accelerated the transformation of Malta into a secular society. The paper describes how these events, together with pressures that are being brought to bear by secular movements upon Maltese society, are profoundly affecting its Catholic identity and redrawing its moral landscape. It also discusses ways and means by which the Catholic Church in Malta can address these challenges and contribute towards the construction of a more humane Maltese society. In order to achieve this, it must first and foremost remain a coherent witness of a faith that is forever alive, dynamic and relevant.peer-reviewe