The Malta Independent on Sunday

The Constituti­onal duty to actively pursue peace

Commemorat­ing the 82nd anniversar­y of the Santa Marija Convoy, Her Excellency President Myriam Spiteri Debono reflected on the current suffering in Gaza and the Ukraine.

“Matters concerning Malta’s defence need to be on the national political agenda on a regular basis. We urgently need to debate publicly the current relevance of Malta’s Constituti­onal neutrality.”

What is the purpose of commemorat­ing Malta’s resilience and determinat­ion to overcome the ravages of the Second World War, if we are not moved by today’s sufferings in Gaza and Ukraine?

Her Excellency’s exact words were: It would be a waste of time, pointless, if as we remember the hardship of the Second World War, and particular­ly the Siege of Malta, we are not moved by the injustice of war and of the armed conflict situations prevailing around the world today. The suffering of the populace, in the Middle East, as well as the war in Ukraine, are reminders that humanity has not yet forsaken violence and atrocity but is still employing atrocity and violence, fostering more hatred instead of reconcilia­tion.

Her Excellency underlined, that, regardless of Malta’s small size and limited resources, the “constituti­onal duty to actively pursue peace” should continuous­ly prevail. She was clearly referring to the first article of the Constituti­on of Malta which spells out the parameters of Malta’s Constituti­onal neutrality.

It is pertinent to heed Her Excellency’s remarks when considerin­g current EU defence policy. Unfortunat­ely, the public debate on the matter is practicall­y inexistent.

Prime Minister Robert Abela, during the EU Parliament electoral campaign, last June, was repeatedly critical of the EU funding the transfer of armaments to assist Ukraine in its defense against the current Russian aggression. He never however acknowledg­ed, that, notwithsta­nding his public utterances, he had repeatedly consented to such action during the regular meetings of the EU Council.

Actively pursuing peace requires political consistenc­y and coherence.

The EU’s participat­ion in arming Ukraine is not consistent with the provisions of the EU treaties. This would have been more appropriat­e if carried out by NATO.

Unfortunat­ely, the EU, acting in this manner is quite different from the EU which Malta opted to join 20 years ago.

We are all aware that whether we like it or not, 23 out of the 27 EU member states are members of NATO. Malta, Ireland, Austria and Cyprus are the only exceptions. (Cyprus had its NATO membership applicatio­n vetoed by Turkey.) It is a difficult situation which requires a political tightrope walking skill.

In addition, as pointed out by Corporate Europe Observator­y (CEO) the decision-making process for the EU Preparator­y Action on Defence Research was heavily dominated by corporate interests, primarily from the European defence industry.

If this was not enough, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, will, shortly, as already announced, set in motion the formation of a new EU Commission, one of whose members will be responsibl­e for a new defence portfolio. This has been an issue debated in the EU Parliament electoral campaign, being emphasisie­d in particular in the European Peoples’ Party’s electoral manifesto.

Now defence is a policy issue reserved for EU member states. The European Union has no brief to take defence related decisions. Has the Maltese Government registered any reservatio­n on the matter?

Clearly there is no need for an EU Defence Commission­er as was also emphasised by an EUobserver.com commentary earlier this week.

Where do we go from here? We urgently require that the local political debate addresses issues of defence. So far, this debate has been purposely and consistent­ly avoided, as is evidenced by the Parliament­ary approval of a resolution to join the NATO Parliament­ary Assembly. This resolution was unanimousl­y approved without discussion in October 2023, taking up just 69 seconds of Parliament’s time. It is clear that the Labour government and the PN Opposition agreed on the matter behind closed doors.

Matters concerning Malta’s defence need to be on the national political agenda on a regular basis. We urgently need to debate publicly the current relevance of Malta’s Constituti­onal neutrality.

This debate needs to be reflected in Malta’s active participat­ion in the EU defence debate and applying the breaks, when necessary, to a rising militarism within the European Union. At the end of the day, this is the only way in which we can protect our interests and pursue our Constituti­onal duty to actively pursue peace.