How the EU member States back Malta's accession bid

Anthony Manduca looks at the support that Malta is receiving in its European Union bid from the individual member States of the Union

Group 1: Italy, The United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal and Greece. These are the countries that are the greatest supporters of Malta's EU bid. Italy has always been the most supportive of Malta entering the EU, from the day Malta formally applied for EU membership in 1990. Besides Italy having a strategic interest in a stable and secure neighbour such as Malta, the two countries have excellent commercial, political and cultural links. When Malta first applied for EU membership, Italy was virtually the only EU country which really had an interest in backing Malta.

The United Kingdom is also very supportive of Malta's EU bid although this was not the case in the early 1990s. By the mid-1990s, the Conservative government of John Major came to see EU enlargement as a way of widening and not deepening of the Union and therefore became more committed to the process. Support for Malta's EU bid increased considerably when Tony Blair's Labour Party took office. The fact that Malta is a former British colony and Anglo-Maltese relations are excellent on a social, personal, cultural, commercial and political level, also partly explains why Britain is keen to support Malta's EU application.

Spain, Portugal and Greece are all keen on Malta's EU bid, principally because it would increase the Mediterranean dimension of the European Union. Although Spain was particularly hurt when the previous Labour government closed Malta's embassy in Madrid, this has not affected its support for Malta's EU bid.

Group 2: Ireland: The Republic of Ireland is generally supportive of Malta joining the EU probably because we are, like them, a small, Catholic, neutral and English speaking country. However, Ireland will not go out of its way to support Malta as eagerly as the first group. Malta is not as well known in Ireland as it is in the United Kingdom, and although the two countries share similar characteristics and history, there are no embassies in each other's capitals.

Group 3: France. In the past the French were never leading supporters of Malta's EU bid as they always considered us an Anglophile country, but they do acknowledge that we are a Mediterranean country and that the Mediterranean aspect of the EU will be strengthened with Malta's accession. France is bound to emphasise the need for Malta to improve its environmental legislation and its shipping laws when it takes over the EU presidency next month and the Erika disaster did not exactly help relations between the two countries. However, the French admit that we are better prepared for EU membership than most of the other applicant States.

Group 4: Germany and Austria: The main focus of these two countries as far as enlargement is concerned is undoubtedly central and eastern Europe, for historical and strategic reasons. Germany will insist that Poland and perhaps one or two other eastern European countries are included in the first enlargement wave and will not be particularly upset if Malta is not.

However, this does not mean that Germany is against Malta's EU membership; it means that this is certainly not a German foreign policy priority. The same can be said about Austria, although this country has become increasingly sceptical about EU enlargement as a whole, mainly due to the perceived threat from the free movement of persons that EU accession would bring about.

Group 5: The Benelux: Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg. The support from these countries over the years has been somewhat lukewarm but has improved somewhat. The original fear of these member States was that admitting a small nation such as Malta would be used as an excuse to reduce the power and influence of small countries, meaning that they would also lose out.

Group 6: Scandinavia: The priority of Sweden, Denmark and Finland as far as enlargement is concerned is Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Malta is not well known in Scandinavia, although our new embassy in Stockholm should help. Sweden holds the EU presidency from January-June 2001 and it is possible that Malta's EU negotiations will be concluded during that period. Scandinavia's support for Malta is conditional on the Baltic States being given the same support by the other EU countries. So in a way this could work in Malta's favour.