Jekk kien hemm messaġġ wieħed ċar mid-dibattitu fil-plenarja dwar il-konsegwenzi tal-Maltempata Harry, huwa dan: il-maltemp u t-tibdil fil-klima ma jiddiskriminawx bejn pajjiż u ieħor.
Aħna Maltin.
Ilna aktar minn għoxrin sena membri fl-Unjoni Ewropea, u xorta għadna niffaċċjaw l-istess problema strutturali. Unjoni Ewropea li, fil-mod kif tfassal ir-regoli tagħha, ma tqisx biżżejjed ir-realtajiet ta’ pajjiż bħal tagħna.
Aħna pajjiż wieħed. Reġjun wieħed.
U sal-lum, ir-regoli li jiddeterminaw min jista’ jaċċedi għall-Fond ta’ Solidarjetà Ewropew, fil-prattika, kważi jeskludu lil Malta. Mhux għax il-ħsara mhix serja. Mhux għax l-impatt mhuwiex reali. Imma għax il-kriterji u l-limiti ma jirriflettux ir-realtà ta’ stat gżira żgħir b’territorju u bażi ekonomika limitata.
Għalhekk il-messaġġ tiegħi lill-Kummissjoni Ewropea huwa wieħed ċar: aħna mhux qed nitolbu trattament speċjali. Qed nitolbu trattament ġust.
Kif dejjem ngħid, Malta m’għandha xejn inqas minn pajjiżi oħra. M’għandna xejn inqas mill-Ġermanja, minn Spanja jew mill-Italja.
Irridu Ewropa li tqis lil kulħadd indaqs. Imma fl-istess ħin ma rridux Ewropa li tpoġġi lil kulħadd fl-istess keffa, bla ma tagħraf id-differenzi strutturali bejn l-Istati Membri.
Is-solidarjetà trid tkun waħda konkreta. U għal pajjiż bħal Malta, dan ifisser regoli li jaħdmu fil-prattika, mhux biss fuq il-karta.
Storm Harry and the Need for Fairness in the EU Solidarity Fund
If there is one clear point from the recent plenary debate on the aftermath of Storm Harry, it is this: extreme weather and climate change do not discriminate between countries.
Malta has been a member of the European Union for over twenty years. And yet we continue to face the same structural problem: a European framework that fails to properly take into account the realities of a country like ours.
We are one country. One island state. One single region.
The rules that determine access to the EU Solidarity Fund are designed in a way that, in practice, largely exclude Malta. Not because the damage is insignificant. Not because the impact is not real. But because the eligibility thresholds and criteria do not reflect the scale and structure of small island states.
To the European Commission, my message is simple: we are not asking for special treatment. We are asking for fair treatment.
As I always say, Malta has nothing less than any other Member State. We deserve a Europe that treats everyone equally.
Malta has nothing less than Germany, Spain or Italy.
But equality does not mean treating everyone identically. We do not want a Europe that places every country in the same box, ignoring their structural differences. We want a Union that understands that fairness sometimes requires differentiation.
Solidarity must be real. And for small island states like Malta, that means rules that work in practice, not only on paper.