tag:theconversation.com,2011:/id/topics/malta-6433/articlesMalta – The Conversation2023-12-05T12:39:07Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2189382023-12-05T12:39:07Z2023-12-05T12:39:07ZUkraine war: Russia’s hard line at European security meeting ratchets up tensions another notch<p>After many months of <a href="https://www.shrmonitor.org/exclusive-malta-under-consideration-to-become-osce-chair-in-2024/">diplomatic wrangling</a>, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) was granted another lease of life at the annual ministerial council meeting last week in a <a href="https://www.osce.org/chairpersonship/559671">messy compromise</a> between Russia and the west. But rather than ushering in a period of renewed efforts to mend Europe’s broken security order, existing faultlines have deepened and new ones have emerged.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.osce.org/whatistheosce">OSCE</a> traces its roots back to a period of serious attempts at detente between the US and the USSR during the 1970s. It’s now the world’s largest regional security organisation with 57 participating states encompassing three continents – North America, Europe and Asia. Yet its ability to fulfil its mandate of providing security has been severely compromised in recent years. </p>
<p>While the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was the latest and most egregious violation of the OSCE’s fundamental principles, it was not the first. Russia’s invasion of Georgia in 2008 and the subsequent recognition of the independence of the Kremlin-supported breakaway states of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in August was followed, in 2014, by the annexation of Crimea and occupation of parts of Donbas. </p>
<p>Russia has also deliberately undermined the OSCE’s existing missions in Ukraine. The “<a href="https://www.osce.org/observer-mission-at-russian-checkpoints-gukovo-and-donetsk-discontinued">Observer Mission </a>”, which was set up in July 2014 to monitor activity at key Russian-Ukrainian border checkpoints in eastern Ukraine was discontinued in September 2021. </p>
<p>Meanwhile the “<a href="https://www.osce.org/special-monitoring-mission-to-ukraine-closed">Special Monitoring Mission</a>”, set up in March 2014 to observe and report in an impartial and objective manner on the security situation in Ukraine was closed in March 2022, weeks after Russia launched its all-out invasion. </p>
<p>The office of the <a href="https://www.osce.org/project-coordinator-in-ukraine-closed">project coordinator</a> in Ukraine, which was set up at Kyiv’s request in 1999 to help it meet a range of security challenges and assist and advise on reforms, was closed in June 2022. All of these initiatives ended after Russia vetoed their continuation.</p>
<p>Yet, none of this stopped the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, from <a href="https://mid.ru/en/press_service/video/view/1918477/">declaring</a> at the latest meeting that the OSCE was becoming “an appendage of Nato and the EU” and finds itself “on the brink of the abyss”.</p>
<p>At least on this latter point, there is little disagreement. The OSCE is experiencing the <a href="https://fpc.org.uk/is-a-russian-veto-on-leadership-about-to-provoke-the-downfall-of-the-osce/">deepest crisis</a> in its history. Because of Russia’s veto, the organisation has not had an approved budget since 2021. It has only survived on the basis of “<a href="https://www.shrmonitor.org/how-creative-diplomacy-has-averted-a-collapse-of-the-osce-until-now/">creative diplomacy</a>”, with individual member states finding money to fund its missions.</p>
<h2>Sense of instability</h2>
<p>The compromises <a href="https://www.osce.org/chairpersonship/559671">achieved</a> at the ministerial council in Skopje last week do little to put the OSCE back onto a more sustainable footing. While <a href="https://www.shrmonitor.org/exclusive-osce-permanent-council-paves-the-way-for-malta-to-assume-the-osce-chair-in-2024/">appointing Malta</a> as chair of the organisation for 2024 averts complete dysfunctionality, the mandates of the organisation’s other top officials, including the secretary general, were extended by only nine months, rather than the customary three-year period. </p>
<p>This merely prolongs the existing agony by putting off a decision on who is to lead the organisation and its institutions. The pervasive sense of instability that now surrounds the OSCE fits neatly with the Kremlin’s narrative of the need for a fundamentally new and different European security order. </p>
<p>While Russia managed to block Estonia’s candidacy for the chair and secured a non-Nato member for the role with Malta, this is <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/osce-limps-through-another-year-russia-relents-veto-2023-12-01/">hardly</a> a triumph of Russian diplomacy, given that the Kremlin had to drop its opposition to the renewal of the other leadership positions.</p>
<p>Nor is the compromise a win for the west. Crucially, the west was far from united in its approach. Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic states <a href="https://www.euronews.com/2023/11/28/baltic-countries-boycott-osce-meeting-over-russian-invitation">refused</a> to send their foreign ministers to the meeting in protest over Lavrov’s attendance. Their US and UK counterparts, Antony Blinken and David Cameron, attended the pre-meeting dinner but avoided any contact with Lavrov. </p>
<p>By contrast, the German foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, attended in person and launched a scathing condemnation of Russia and Lavrov in her <a href="https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/1/9/559131.pdf">statement</a>, underscoring that the Kremlin’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine is also a war against the OSCE. </p>
<p>Several, including non-western, delegates emphasised the importance of respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all participating states. But only nine of them aligned themselves with the <a href="https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/d/f/559590.pdf">EU statement</a>, which called on “Russia to immediately stop its war of aggression against Ukraine, and completely and unconditionally withdraw … from the entire territory of Ukraine”.</p>
<p>This does not mean that the remainder of the OSCE’s participating states support the Kremlin’s war of aggression. But it indicates the likely difficulties which Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky’s <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/what-is-zelenskiys-10-point-peace-plan-2022-12-28/">peace formula</a> will face in the future. A wider pro-western line was adopted by more than 40 participating states that issued joint statements on <a href="https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/e/c/559713.pdf">human rights and fundamental freedoms</a> and on the <a href="https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/b/b/559707.pdf">90th anniversary of the Holodomor</a> genocide in Ukraine in 1932-1933.</p>
<h2>Deep divisions</h2>
<p>Yet this cannot gloss over the fundamental divide that persists in the OSCE between the collective west and Russia and its remaining allies. A <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/nato-allies-joint-statement-to-the-osce-ministerial-council-2023">joint statement</a> by Nato members (and Sweden) squarely pointed the finger of blame for all that is wrong with the OSCE and European security at the Kremlin. </p>
<p>Russia and Belarus, in turn, received support from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan in their <a href="https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/8/3/559662.pdf">attempt</a> to deflect that blame and portray themselves as champions of peace, security and human rights.</p>
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<p>Much was made at the ministerial council of the OSCE as an important platform for dialogue, especially in light of the many security challenges that the region faces. But, as Liechtenstein’s representative <a href="https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/7/1/559251.pdf">aptly put it</a>, for this to work, participating states need to recognise, and remind themselves of, the added value that the OSCE brings to each of them individually and the region as a whole. </p>
<p>There is little evidence that this message will be heard. And so the danger persists that an ongoing “dialogue of the deaf” will eventually push the OSCE into oblivion.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218938/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stefan Wolff is a past recipient of grant funding from the Natural Environment Research Council of the UK, the United States Institute of Peace, the Economic and Social Research Council of the UK, the British Academy, the NATO Science for Peace Programme, the EU Framework Programmes 6 and 7 and Horizon 2020, as well as the EU's Jean Monnet Programme. He is a Trustee and Honorary Treasurer of the Political Studies Association of the UK, a Senior Research Fellow at the Foreign Policy Centre in London and Co-Coordinator of the OSCE Network of Think Tanks and Academic Institutions.</span></em></p>The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe appears to be on its last legs.Stefan Wolff, Professor of International Security, University of BirminghamLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1853412022-07-01T15:38:42Z2022-07-01T15:38:42ZGood historical fiction is not just about factual accuracy, but the details of human experience too<p>How do you begin the process of researching a novel? In the case of my latest book, <a href="https://www.flyonthewallpress.co.uk/product-page/man-at-sea-by-liam-bell#:%7E:text=MALTA%201941.,Victor%2C%20that%20will%20shatter%20everything.">Man at Sea</a>, the task seemed straightforward if a little daunting.</p>
<p>The novel is partly set during the second world war, so I spent a lot of time combing the <a href="https://www.iwm.org.uk/research/research-facilities">Imperial War Museum archives</a>. It also examines Malta’s transition from <a href="https://historiansatbristol.blogs.bristol.ac.uk/archives/408">British colony to independence</a> in the 1960s, so I was fortunate enough to undertake several research trips to the island.</p>
<p>As a writer, the key is not so much assembling reams and reams of material, but finding the details that make a period or situation vivid for you and, eventually, for the reader – those few facts which make a sprawling and multi-faceted topic specific enough to relate to and empathise with. The novelist <a href="https://www.sarahwaters.com/#:%7E:text=Sarah%20Waters%20OBE%2C%20was%20born,in%20the%20UK%20and%20US.">Sarah Waters</a> once memorably described those nuggets of information as the “poignant trivia” that provides the canvas for historical fiction.</p>
<p>As a creative writing lecturer, I teach students to not judge their historical fiction purely on historical accuracy, but on its ability to evoke an emotional response. This is what academic Melissa Addey describes in her <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14790726.2021.1876095">research</a> as a “playful exploration set within the frame of the historical record”, which allows for incorporation of smaller, more idiosyncratic details. </p>
<p>Other <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13642529.2020.1727189?src=recsys">research</a> points to the useful distinction between accuracy and authenticity, with the latter allowing for the character-based detail that a reader will connect with.</p>
<p>For me, the initial wartime narrative clicked with the discovery of <a href="https://www.rafbf.org/guinea-pig-club/about-the-guinea-pig-club">the Guinea Pig Club</a>. This was the moniker adopted by a group of airmen badly burned in action who were operated on by the pioneering plastic surgeon, <a href="https://www.eastgrinsteadmuseum.org.uk/guinea-pig-club/">Archibald McIndoe</a>, in East Grinstead in Sussex.</p>
<p>At that point, I knew that one of the protagonists of the novel, Stuart, had been injured in the war, but the Guinea Pig Club provided a wealth of detail and characteristics that really brought him to life. In July 2017, I made my first visit to the “<a href="https://www.eastgrinsteadmuseum.org.uk/guinea-pig-club/town-didnt-stare/">town that didn’t stare</a>”, where the club’s honorary secretary, Bob Marchant, showed me around the Queen Victoria Hospital.</p>
<p>Here were the cedarwood huts which I’d seen in the background of photographs showing men with bandaged faces and long trunk-like skin grafts as they waited for their next surgery. And the balconies over the operating theatre from which fellow patients used to watch procedures undertaken by McIndoe. Back at the East Grinstead Museum, Bob showed me the archive of club magazines.</p>
<p>In those pages I found the camaraderie which my character would pine for in those long post-war years, the sense of support and belonging which could sustain him in navigating civilian life.</p>
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<p>And I was genuinely moved to find the Christmas 1960 issue with a memorial to McIndoe who had died that year. At the end was the simple statement: “There are no words.” The Guinea Pig Club, and the debt of gratitude the members owed to their surgeon, became the core of Stuart’s character.</p>
<p>But the emotional link to Malta itself, though, came from much closer to home. </p>
<h2>A family story</h2>
<p>Back in 1956, my grandparents lived in Malta while my grandfather was stationed with the Mediterranean fleet. My late grandmother, Marian Scrimgeour, kept a diary which was ideal for providing distinctive detail.</p>
<p>She didn’t experience the fierce air raids of the <a href="https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/how-malta-survived-the-second-world-war">siege of Malta</a>, but she did navigate the <a href="https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/why-was-the-suez-crisis-so-important">Suez Crisis</a> with two young children in tow. So, her account of daily life includes notes such as: “Watched review of Nato ships whilst hanging out washing on roof. Cook. Dinner. A and J to sleep”. That steadfast continuation of the everyday domestic tasks while tensions escalated provided valuable insight for imagining life on the island during the war. </p>
<p>I also found an entry in which she is passing notes with a friend via the “ice man”, and there is a mention, in late April, of the milk going sour overnight. In the novel, I used those small allusions as a way of the characters noting the arrival of the hot Maltese summer. </p>
<p>These real experiences had the benefit of feeling period-specific and would have been nigh-on impossible to gain from my own trips, some 60 years later. I was also fortunate in being able to speak with my grandfather, Murray Scrimgeour, about his memories before he passed away.</p>
<p>I have scrawled notes about his ship, the <a href="https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205163252">HMS Duchess</a>, and the position of the admiralty in Malta. But the most valuable elements I gleaned from him were the specific naval references, such as <a href="https://www.lordmountbattenofburma.com/return-to-the-royal-navy">Lord Mountbatten</a>, second in command of the Mediterranean fleet, being disparagingly referred to as the “straw-boss”; and the “two-tier” wardroom, or officer’s mess, with the Maltese taken on mostly as stewards for the British officers.</p>
<p>My grandfather told me what it was like to be moved to a “war footing” and having to evacuate his young family from the island by way of a flight on a decommissioned WWII bomber with a faulty fourth engine.</p>
<p>He also related just how dangerous driving his hired Morris Minor had felt, and it is as a nod to him that the character of Stuart observes that the locals all “drove like ricocheting bullets”.</p>
<h2>The historical and the personal</h2>
<p>Reading back over the finished novel now, it is lines like these which make me smile. It is easy to search out a newspaper article or an official report for the facts, but finding that kind of detail which sharply evokes the experience of living in that historical moment is so much more important for the novelist.</p>
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<img alt="A statue of a surgeon with a burns patient." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471875/original/file-20220630-12-ydiymv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/471875/original/file-20220630-12-ydiymv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=758&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471875/original/file-20220630-12-ydiymv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=758&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471875/original/file-20220630-12-ydiymv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=758&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471875/original/file-20220630-12-ydiymv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=953&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471875/original/file-20220630-12-ydiymv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=953&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/471875/original/file-20220630-12-ydiymv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=953&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A statue of pioneering plastic surgeon Archibald McIndoe with a patient, East Grinstead.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archibald_McIndoe#/media/File:McIndoe_monument.jpg">Martin Jennings/WIkipedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>As Man at Sea is released into the world, then, my hope is that the “poignant trivia” Waters speaks of provides a sense of connection and immediacy. My bookshelves are filled with authoritative accounts of the second world war and detailed analyses of Malta’s journey to independence, but the passages in the narrative which readers will hopefully relate to are those provided by the Guinea Pig Club and especially by my late grandparents.</p>
<p>I’ve learned that the key to writing historical fiction is not providing all of the facts and figures, but combing through your research and pinpointing the one detail in ten which the reader can emotionally connect with. It is the human experience that truly resonates.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185341/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Liam Murray Bell receives funding from the Society of Authors.</span></em></p>When it comes to writing historical fiction, one author finds that it’s the very human details that resonate with the reader.Liam Bell, Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing, University of StirlingLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1636792021-07-01T14:35:36Z2021-07-01T14:35:36ZWhy it is vital to decriminalise abortion: the case of Malta<p>If accessing abortion in countries where it’s criminalised wasn’t hard enough before the pandemic, lockdowns and COVID-19 travel restrictions have made the process that much more difficult. </p>
<p>In fact, the issue became so pronounced at the start of the pandemic that the European parliament and the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights called on member states to guarantee safe and timely <a href="https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2020-0336_EN.html">access to abortion</a>. </p>
<p>The European parliament has also just passed a <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/meps-adopt-divisive-text-on-abortion/">non-binding resolution</a> calling for countries to ensure the right to legal and safe abortion. This resolution has been viewed as a challenge to the restrictive abortion laws of Poland <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/11/like-ireland-on-steroids-maltas-abortion-taboo-leaves-women-in-despair">and Malta in particular</a>. </p>
<p>Though Poland’s introduction of a near-total ban on abortion in 2021 was a huge blow for reproductive rights, Malta’s laws are among the strictest in the world. Indeed, Malta is the only EU country with a total ban on abortion, with abortion laws dating back to the 1800s. Given Malta’s long history with such oppressive laws, <a href="https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/3128310/">our research</a> with health and social care professionals in Malta and international abortion care providers shows the effect that criminalisation has on even legal abortion care.</p>
<h2>Abortion laws in Malta</h2>
<p>In May, an independent politician proposed a bill to decriminalise abortion in Malta. While <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/proposal-to-decriminalize-abortion-prompts-debate-in-malta-parliament-poland-european-union-people-catholic-b1854816.html">political opposition</a> blocked the bill’s progression, <a href="https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/3128310/">our research</a> shows why decriminalisation is vital.</p>
<p>The law criminalises both the pregnant person and the abortion provider with the potential for up to four years in prison and has been <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/26410397.2020.1780679">criticised by a range of human rights bodies</a> for its total restriction on bodily autonomy. Wider provision of sexual and reproductive health services is also severely lacking in Malta. Emergency contraception was only introduced in 2016 (pharmacists can still “conscientiously object” to providing it), and there are no state run family planning clinics.</p>
<p>Criminalising abortion of course doesn’t stop it happening. But what it does do is place it outside formal healthcare settings either through abortion travel or procuring abortion pills online illegally. </p>
<h2>Abortion provision during the pandemic</h2>
<p>Since the beginning of the pandemic, travel restrictions have made abortion-seeking journeys more difficult. While the provision of telemedicine (the distribution of health services and information via technology) in many countries has allowed women to access abortion at home, in countries where abortion is illegal, the risk of prosecution remains.</p>
<p>The Abortion Support Network (a UK charity providing practical information and funding for abortion seekers) told us it had received calls from 121 people in Malta between March 2020 and February 2021, up from 90 people who contacted the organisation from Malta the previous year.</p>
<p>Organisations like <a href="https://www.womenonweb.org/en/">Women on Web</a> and <a href="https://womenhelp.org/">Women Help Women</a>, which provide the abortion pills to those in countries where abortion is illegal or inaccessible, also recorded increased inquiries from Malta since the beginning of the pandemic. FPAS Malta – a volunteer-run family planning advisory service that launched in 2020 – was contacted by <a href="https://www.fpas.mt/post/203-clients-helped-in-our-first-six-months">203 people</a> in the first six months, with most queries relating to abortion.</p>
<p>The effects of COVID-19 continue to be felt by people seeking abortion. The costs of testing, flight prices and quarantines were all noted as continued travel barriers. Disruptions to international postage were also obstacles to accessing abortion pills. </p>
<h2>Fears of prosecution</h2>
<p>Our interviews with health and social care professionals in Malta revealed that many are unclear as to what information they can legally provide about abortion. They’re also fearful of prosecution. </p>
<p>While abortion is illegal, providing pre and post-abortion care through counselling, information or follow-up sessions isn’t. These worries about potential legal repercussions have the potential to jeopardise access to accurate information and care, potentially endangering people’s health and lives. In fact, the stigma associated with abortion means that many women make journeys or procure pills alone without health advice or support.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/gibraltar-reform-is-a-small-but-important-step-for-abortion-rights-in-europe-163447">Gibraltar reform is a small – but important – step for abortion rights in Europe</a>
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<p>Some participants working in health and social care also believed they had a duty to report to child protection services if someone intended to have or already had an abortion, even if conducted where it’s legal to do so, such as abroad. A new piece of legislation in Malta, <a href="https://legislation.mt/eli/act/2019/23/eng/pdf">The Minor Protection (Alternative Care) Act</a>, is partly responsible. Introduced in 2020, it was intended to protect children against harm, but was interpreted to include foetuses within the definition of “child”, despite no mention of the foetus in the legislation itself. </p>
<p>A number of social care participants in our research indicated that this “duty to report” was imposed on them by superiors, presenting an additional chill factor in the provision of care. Pressure on practitioners to report those believed to want or who have had abortions also presents an increased risk of prosecution for both professionals and women seeking abortion. Unfortunately, this meant that participants felt that they had to balance caring for their patients and clients with protecting themselves from the risk of potential repercussions.</p>
<p>There is a strong anti-abortion sentiment in Malta, both in politics and society. In 2020, Malta’s Ministry for Social Justice and Solidarity, the Family and Children’s Rights <a href="https://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/103332/minister_impressed_by_abortion_rate_grants_130#.YMtoragzZnI">donated €130,000</a> to a shelter for pregnant women administered by the anti-abortion organisation Life Network. A number of participants in our study also mentioned that the Life Network has operated as a rogue crisis pregnancy centre in Malta, impersonating abortion services and misleading women. It has political ties too. The Life Network takes part in <a href="https://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/91930/maltas_prolifers_part_of_european_extremists_that_#.YMtopagzZnI">Agenda Europe summits</a>, a network of conservative and religious campaigners from the US and Europe that aim to reverse sexual and reproductive health rights in Europe. </p>
<p>The criminalisation of abortion affects all aspects of abortion care and fear of prosecution silences abortion seekers from seeking support from health and social care professionals. The pandemic has highlighted the limitations of accessing abortions in legally restrictive countries and underscored the urgent need for abortion to be decriminalised. If we’re to ensure that people can access and provide reproductive health services without fear of judgement, stigma, legal prosecution, or any other negative repercussions, the global decriminalisation of abortion is vital.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/163679/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Claire Pierson works for the University of Liverpool. Funding for this research was received from the university. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Liza Caruana-Finkel is a member of Malta's pro-choice coalition Voice for Choice.</span></em></p>Worries about the potential repercussions of providing legal and accurate abortion care are endangering people’s health and livesClaire Pierson, Lecturer in Politics, University of LiverpoolLiza Caruana-Finkel, PhD Student, Department of Politics, University of LiverpoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1577262021-04-13T09:01:04Z2021-04-13T09:01:04ZMalta: how the rule of law has been challenged by murder and corruption allegations<p>When 11 people face court in Valletta, Malta, in coming weeks, the rule of law on the Mediterranean island will also be on trial. The defendants, who are facing charges relating to allegations of corrupt dealings, include Keith Schembri, the former chief of staff to the ex-prime minister, Joseph Muscat. Schembri was arrested and detained on March 20 on charges of corruption, money-laundering and “<a href="https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/editorial-the-long-road-to-justice.859288">engaging in lucrative underhand business dealings</a>”, according to press reports. His fellow defendants include various prominent business figures.</p>
<p>The prosecutions stem from investigations, prompted by the publication in 2016 of the <a href="https://offshoreleaks.icij.org/search?c=MLT&cat=2">Panama Papers</a>, into widespread corruption and money laundering in Malta. The investigations were central to the work of murdered Maltese journalist <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/16/malta-car-bomb-kills-panama-papers-journalist">Daphne Caruana Galizia</a>, who was looking into alleged links between government figures and off-shore shell companies at the time of her assassination in October 2017. </p>
<p>All 11 defendants have now been <a href="https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/live-blog-nexia-bt-four-face-money-laundering-charges-in-court.862806">granted bail</a>. Schembri has previously been questioned by police in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/29/the-guardian-view-on-the-daphne-caruana-galizia-investigation-the-ministerial-connection">connection with the assassination</a>, while others – including former prime minister <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-malta-daphne-muscat-resignation-idUSKBN26Q2RW">Joseph Muscat</a> and a cabinet minister, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/26/malta-pm-chief-of-staff-schembri-daphne-caruana-galizia-fenech-muscat">Konrad Mizzi</a> – resigned their posts. None of the three were charged.</p>
<p>Three men accused of carrying out the murder await trial, though one of the three – hitman Vincent Muscat – <a href="https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/live-blog-daphne-murder-suspects-in-court-as-vince-muscat-seeks-fast.853598">entered a guilty plea</a> and was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment in February 2021. A fourth man, businessman Yorgen Fenech, has been charged with “<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-malta-daphne/maltese-businessman-fenech-charged-with-complicity-to-murder-in-journalist-case-idUKKBN1Y40FI?edition-redirect=uk">complicity to murder</a>”, and his alleged links to figures in the government have been the focus of police inquiries in relation both to the corruption allegations and the murder investigation. Fenech, who also awaits trial, has claimed to police, according to evidence given in court reported by the Times of Malta, that <a href="https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/live-blog-police-inspector-to-testify-about-yorgen-fenech.814473">Keith Schembri had an involvement with the attack</a>, although no evidence has been produced in court to support this allegation.</p>
<p>The various scandals engulfing Malta’s eight-year Labour government prompted former European commissioner and conservative Maltese politician Tonio Borg to write <a href="https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/of-folly-and-arrogance-tonio-borg.857593">an article</a> in The Times of Malta asking: “What is happening to this country and its governing bodies?”</p>
<p>The rule of law is the ultimate test of a functioning state. Key to this is the principle that there be one rule for both powerful and powerless. This is why Schembri’s charges are so significant. The Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation <a href="https://www.daphne.foundation/en/2021/03/20/keith-schembri-charged">reacted on its website</a> by saying that: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Prosecuting Schembri today brings us a step closer to a Malta where no one is above the law. It is the country Daphne fought for and the one we all deserve.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Rule of law</h2>
<p>Also key to a functioning democracy is <a href="https://www.thenewfederalist.eu/how-is-malta-s-corruption-and-lack-of-good-governance-affecting-the-eu?lang=fr">freedom of the press</a>, a principle that was severely damaged when Caruana Galizia was murdered. But concern for the rule of law in Malta runs deeper than allegations of serious crime and the murdering of a journalist. It goes right to the heart of the constitutional system, in which one finds a concentration of power in the hands of the government. The government is currently under fire for its <a href="https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/a-dangerous-abusive-bill.858112">proposed Bill 198</a>, which critics have said is a “dangerous, abusive bill which risks undermining the constitution”. </p>
<p>At present, under the Maltese constitution, criminal proceedings can only be held in a court of law, with any criminal penalties being within the exclusive discretion of a court. The constitutional court <a href="https://ecourts.gov.mt/onlineservices/Judgements/Details?JudgementId=0&CaseJudgementId=100432">ruled in 2016</a> that harsh administrative penalties should be regarded as of a criminal nature and remain within the exclusive domain of the courts. The <a href="https://theshiftnews.com/2021/03/07/dodgers-gone-dodge-city-remains/">reasoning is simple</a>: “The person facing severe fines and measures whether of a criminal or administrative nature needs all the protections of the courts.”</p>
<p>Malta’s justice minister, Edward Zammit Lewis, attempted in October 2020 to amend the constitution to enable the government to establish public authorities with the power to impose financial penalties, potentially usurping the authority of the courts. His amendment failed to achieve the two-thirds majority needed to pass. So instead the government has presented Bill 198, which attempts to amend the <a href="https://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/108395/delia_will_take_interpretation_act_to_constitutional_court_if_bill_is_passed#.YFnxsy2l1hE">Interpretation Act</a>, which concerns the language in which laws in Malta are interpreted. </p>
<p>The amendment would effectively alter the definition of a criminal sanction, meaning penalties could be imposed by public authorities and not just courts. </p>
<p>The bill – which could pass with a simple majority of one vote – <a href="https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/undermining-the-constitution.855481">provides that</a> “administrative penalties, some of them running into exorbitant amounts of hundreds of thousands of euros, will no longer need to be imposed by a court of law”.</p>
<p>But access to the protection of courts is at the very heart of the rule of law. Allowing public authorities to impose criminal sanctions bypasses the courts and permits “<a href="https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/undermining-the-constitution.855481">government-appointed officers</a>” to issue penalties. </p>
<p>This would be bad enough on its own, but the way the government is attempting to go about this reform makes matters worse. Having failed to achieve the votes for formal constitutional amendment, the government is now trying to change the meaning of the constitution’s words by taking advantage of a constitutional loophole. </p>
<p>This could set the unwelcome precedent of the government amending the constitution through technical adjustment. Indeed, <a href="https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/undermining-the-constitution.855481">leading constitutional lawyers</a> have said that the Labour government was “using its … parliamentary majority to cripple … the supreme law of the land. The supremacy of the constitution would translate into the will and whim of transient politicians.”</p>
<p>There has been serious concern for some time that elements of the political and business elite have considered themselves above the law, something highlighted by the murder of Caruana Galizia, the corruption allegations and the Malta government’s seeming disregard for the constitution. As Tonio Borg asked in his passionate polemic in The Times of Malta: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Are these incidents the result of arrogance or folly of the powers that be? Is it possible that these extreme, unreasonable and disproportionate actions are the fruit of arrogance after eight years in government or merely the folly of politicians who have lost the plot? Probably they are both.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The looming trial of a former high-ranking government adviser may well shed some light on his conclusions.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/157726/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Stanton does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The life, death and work of murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia may finally be bearing fruit.John Stanton, Senior Lecturer in Law, City, University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1378402020-05-13T10:30:16Z2020-05-13T10:30:16ZMigration: how Europe is using coronavirus to reinforce its hostile environment in the Mediterranean<p>“You have to understand,” Warsan Shire writes in her poem <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nI9D92Xiygo">Home</a>, “that no one puts their children in a boat, unless the water is safer than the land.” </p>
<p>But what do you do when not only the land of departure but also the land of arrival becomes unsafe?</p>
<p>In the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, some European countries have begun to implement a new strategy to reject migrants travelling on precarious boats: declaring themselves unsafe. </p>
<p>On April 7, and for the first time in history, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/08/italy-declares-own-ports-unsafe-to-stop-migrants-disembarking">Italy announced</a> that due to the health emergency, Italian harbours could no longer be considered “safe places” for migrant landings. Two days later, <a href="https://www.euractiv.com/section/justice-home-affairs/news/malta-says-it-can-no-longer-rescue-accept-migrants/">Malta followed suit</a>, stating it would be in the migrants’ own interest not to endanger their lives at sea. </p>
<p>As a result, hundreds of migrants have been stuck at sea in the past few weeks, somewhere between war-torn Libya and “unsafe” Europe. Some were eventually rescued by <a href="https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/78-rescued-migrants-still-stranded-at-sea-on-cargo-ship.789971">commercial vessels</a> but <a href="https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/second-captain-morgan-ship-chartered-for-120-more-migrants.790556">barred from entering</a> European harbours. Others were left adrift on flimsy boats.</p>
<p>One group of 63 people was stranded at sea when their engine failed them in the Maltese Search and Rescue zone in mid-April. European authorities were informed about their distress and for days Malta, and the EU border agency Frontex, <a href="https://www.avvenire.it/attualita/pagine/malta-svelato-il-nome-del-barcone-fantasma-e-frontex-accusa-gli-stati-li-abbiamo-informati-ma-soccorsi-spettano-a-loro">observed them from the sky</a>. With no help sent, some starved to death on board and others drowned, according to <a href="https://alarmphone.org/en/2020/04/16/twelve-deaths-and-a-secret-push-back-to-libya/?post_type_release_type=post">one of the survivors</a> who spoke to the activist network <a href="https://twitter.com/alarm_phone">Alarm Phone</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>We shouted for help and made signs. Three people tried to swim to this big boat as it started moving away. They drowned. We made signs to the aircraft with the phones and we held the baby up to show we were in distress.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Eventually, after days with no help, the Maltese authorities orchestrated a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/30/world/europe/migrants-malta.html">secret operation</a> to push the migrants back to Libya, carried out by a small fleet of private fishing trawlers. During their involuntary journey back to Libya, three other individuals are reported to have died, bringing the total number of <a href="https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/the-faces-and-names-of-a-migration-tragedy.788723?fbclid=IwAR2km5YE6EESadoUtMDrMlEaIUPgxjhrb3tanI-XBL0gXCNkApA9IG8-aSk">fatalities to 12</a>. </p>
<p>The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/world/press-briefing-note-migrant-rescues-mediterranean-spokesperson-un-high-commissioner">deep concern</a>, and a Maltese NGO <a href="https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/live-robert-abela-gives-press-statement.786281">triggered a criminal enquiry</a> against Malta’s prime minister, Robert Abela, over the deaths and the forced return of survivors to Libya. Responding to the accusations, Abela defended the government’s actions by alluding to its responsibility to ensure the health of “all the Maltese” through restrictions on immigration. </p>
<h2>Blame game</h2>
<p>In the aftermath of yet another catastrophic failure to prevent lives from being lost at sea, a familiar game of deflection has ensued, with EU institutions and member states rejecting responsibility. </p>
<p>Shifting blame to smuggling networks, though still a common strategy, has been complicated by revelations of Europe’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/04/human-trafficker-at-meeting-italy-libya-migration-abd-al-rahman-milad">close collaborations</a> with these very networks. </p>
<p>In the past, politicians have cited the <a href="https://deathbyrescue.org/">pull-factor theory</a>, which argues that the presence of NGO rescuers off North African coasts encourages migrants to make the journey across the Mediterranean. But this theory has also lost persuasive power given the fact that migrant departures are continuing despite the current <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-crisis-hampering-mediterranean-migrant-rescues/a-53168399">absence of NGOs</a> at sea due to the coronavirus crisis.</p>
<p>Without NGO rescuers left to blame, Malta accused the EU and its member states of failing to act, insisting that the new migrant arrivals were “<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-malta/malta-refuses-to-let-migrant-ship-dock-awaits-eu-deal-idUSKBN22D5ES">not Malta’s problem</a>”. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/libya-why-enforcing-an-arms-embargo-is-so-hard-130254">Libya: why enforcing an arms embargo is so hard</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>United in migrant deterrence</h2>
<p>These deflections of responsibility and tensions between EU member states and institutions over migration have become commonplace. And yet, in reality, Europe is largely <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/sites/homeaffairs/files/what-we-do/policies/european-agenda-migration/20190306_managing-migration-factsheet-step-change-migration-management-border-security-timeline_en.pdf">united</a> in its efforts to militarise its border over the past five years. As I have argued in a <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ips/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/ips/olaa007/5818334">recent study</a>, both EU member states and institutions have worked hand-in-hand to turn Europe into a hostile environment for migrants seeking protection. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/sites/homeaffairs/files/what-we-do/policies/european-agenda-migration/20190306_managing-migration-factsheet-step-change-migration-management-border-security-timeline_en.pdf">European Commission</a> was not wrong to state in 2019 that in matters of border security: “We have made more progress in the space of four years than was possible in the 20 years preceding them.”</p>
<p><a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/01/libya-renewal-of-migration-deal-confirms-italys-complicity-in-torture-of-migrants-and-refugees/">Agreements</a> with Libyan authorities, including <a href="https://www.clingendael.org/publication/impact-eu-migration-policies-central-saharan-routes">militia groups</a>, have led to the interception of tens of thousands of people at sea, often after being spotted in the air by the <a href="https://www.operationsophia.eu/about-us/">EU operation SOPHIA</a> or by Frontex. In this way, Europe has militarised its borders in full awareness of the systematic violation of migrants’ rights in Libya, including forms of rape and torture, that have been <a href="https://www.msf.org/mediterranean-escape-route-migrants-and-refugees-trapped-libya">documented for years</a>.</p>
<p>Every theatrical plea to the EU by a member state demanding more support distracts from this reality of a rapidly militarising European border that has dramatically brought down migrant arrivals. Despite characterisations of Mediterranean migration as an ongoing crisis, <a href="https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/mediterranean">data on migrant crossings</a> shows that 2020 could see the lowest number of arrivals in a decade.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/slave-auctions-in-libya-are-the-latest-evidence-of-a-reality-for-migrants-the-eu-prefers-to-ignore-88589">Slave auctions in Libya are the latest evidence of a reality for migrants the EU prefers to ignore</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Italy and Malta’s declaration of their harbours as unsafe should not be viewed as an exceptional measure during an exceptional time but as part and parcel of continuous, and collectively European, efforts to reinforce anti-migrant deterrence measures. </p>
<p>Those languishing in Libyan torture camps or drowning off Europe’s coasts must regard deterrence in the name of “unsafe Europe” for what it is: yet another cynical way to keep them away and deprive them of safety, no matter the cost.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/137840/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Maurice Stierl receives funding from the Leverhulme Trust. He is a member of Alarm Phone. </span></em></p>Migrants have been left to die in the Mediterranean as Italy and Malta declared their harbours ‘unsafe’ in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.Maurice Stierl, Leverhulme Research Fellow, University of WarwickLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1205372019-08-15T15:05:08Z2019-08-15T15:05:08ZQuestions remain unanswered in Malta, nearly two years after journalist’s murder<p>Daphne Caruana Galizia was Malta’s best known and most widely-read investigative journalist. She used her blog <a href="https://daphnecaruanagalizia.com/">Running Commentary</a> to publish exposés on corruption among Maltese politicians and public officials, often targeting members of the ruling Labour Party. She picked up both admirers and enemies and continues to be a controversial figure, even after her murder. In 2017, Chris Cardona, the economy minister, <a href="https://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/court_and_police/74261/46000_garnishee_caruana_galizia_ministers_libel_suit#.XR8kgehKjIU">called</a> Caruana Galizia “a blogger that publishes unfounded lies, intended to break people”.</p>
<p>Soon after Caruana Galizia’s death in October 2017, three men suspected of being contract killers were detained and brought before a magistrate for pre-trial proceedings. But it took until July 2019 for them to be formally charged with the murder. The trial will begin in “due course” but a <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-49011156">date has still not been set</a>.</p>
<p>And while the three suspected hit men are facing court, there is little progress towards prosecuting whomever hired them to carry out the killing. Back in November 2018, the home affairs minister Michael Farrugia <a href="https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/home-affairs-minister-confirms-police-close-to-more-arrests-in-caruana.694674">said</a> investigators were closing in. He expressed hope that “soon those responsible are arrested”. However, so far, this has not happened. </p>
<h2>A prevailing climate of impunity</h2>
<p>It is against this backdrop that, in May 2019, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), which is made up of members of parliament from 47 countries, <a href="http://www.assembly.coe.int/LifeRay/JUR/Pdf/TextesProvisoires/2019/20190529-CaruanaGaliziaAssassination-EN.pdf">argued</a> that the failure to properly investigate this case raises “serious questions about the rule of law in Malta”.</p>
<p>In the same resolution, the assembly warned that a long list of allegations of corruption have not been properly investigated. It raised concern about the apparent protection that some high-ranking officials seemed to enjoy.</p>
<p>In its resolution, PACE refers to certain governmental policies that heighten the risk of money laundering, such as the Maltese investor citizenship scheme (or “golden passports”). Under this scheme, Maltese citizenship can be sold to wealthy individuals, who are able to fork out hundreds of thousands of euros for a passport, under less stringent conditions than under ordinary naturalisation regimes. The names of the buyers are not published. Such schemes have raised
<a href="https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/com_2019_12_final_report.pdf">concerns</a> over security, money laundering, tax evasion and corruption.</p>
<p>PACE also refers to a number of scandals that were being investigated by Caruana Galizia at the time of her death. These include the so-called <a href="https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/egrant-inquiry-no-evidence-linking-michelle-muscat-to-egrant.685044">“Egrant inquiry”</a> – an investigation into an allegation linking prime minister Joseph Muscat to a Panama company called Egrant Inc. The conclusions exonerated the prime minister. However, activists have questioned the government’s continued reluctance to publish the full report into the matter. </p>
<p>There were also revelations related to the <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/panama-papers-26281">Panama papers</a> – a massive leak of documents in 2015 that exposed the tax dealings of politicians and other high-profile figures. The Maltese leaks concerned offshore accounts held by several senior government figures and their associates. </p>
<p>The Maltese government has so far declined to seriously investigate these scandals. The pressure to do so from the main <a href="https://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2019-08-04/local-news/Delia-in-candid-appeal-for-party-unity-6736211782">opposition party</a> in Malta has at best been sporadic. </p>
<p>Malta is currently enjoying a period of prosperity. Its economy is <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/info/business-economy-euro/economic-performance-and-forecasts/economic-performance-country/malta/economic-forecast-malta_en">projected</a> to grow faster than any other in the European Union, according to a recent EU Economic Forecast. And during this period of economic prosperity, many seem willing to turn a blind eye to the scandals that Caruana Galizia dedicated her life to investigating. But unless these scandals are robustly investigated, they will eat away at the rule of law and breed a sense of impunity in Malta. </p>
<p>For justice in the Caruana Galizia case to be served, we have to wait for the criminal trial against the three accused of her murder to begin. In the meantime, however, the Maltese government should act decisively and investigate, in an impartial and transparent manner, the lingering scandals that she helped uncover.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/120537/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Aldo Zammit Borda was formerly a First Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malta. He is currently Senior Lecturer in Public International Law at Anglia Ruskin University. However, all views expressed here are his own.</span></em></p>Daphne Caruana Galizia was investigating several corruption scandals when she was murdered in 2017. The government continues to avoid serious investigations into the allegations.Aldo Zammit Borda, Senior Lecturer in International Law, Anglia Ruskin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/998292018-07-18T18:46:38Z2018-07-18T18:46:38ZThe US is a whole lot richer because of trade with Europe, regardless of whether EU is friend or ‘foe’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228250/original/file-20180718-142428-1tmzpx7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Trump and Merkel: Friends, foes or frenemies?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/APTOPIX-Trump-NATO-Summit/cef1edd9372b4fa695463faf2e375518/2/0">AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>President Donald Trump recently questioned the value of the long-standing United States-Europe alliance. When asked to identify his “biggest foe globally,” <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-interview-cbs-news-european-union-is-a-foe-ahead-of-putin-meeting-in-helsinki-jeff-glor/">he declared</a>: “I think the European Union is a foe, what they do to us in trade.”</p>
<p>This view is consistent with his recent <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-us-tariffs-will-affect-different-parts-of-the-eu-97651">turn against trade</a> with Europe but ignores the immense benefits that Americans have reaped due to the strong economic and military alliance between the U.S. and Europe – benefits that include nothing less than unprecedented <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/20798962.pdf">peace</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/rules-based-trade-made-the-world-rich-trumps-policies-may-make-it-poorer-97896">prosperity</a>. </p>
<p>As such, Trump’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/trade-wars-50746">trade war</a> with Europe and his hostility toward broader Western alliances such as NATO portend a future of diminished standards of living – as a direct result of less trade – and greater global conflict – <a href="https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=L53fR-TusZAC&oi=fnd&pg=PR5&ots=Ey5rtq9LrE&sig=MKMMiEv_We3mXsRTdx-045JA_0A#v=onepage&q&f=false">indirectly due to</a> reduced economic integration. In the words of columnist Robert Kagan, “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/everything-will-not-be-okay/2018/07/12/c5900550-85e9-11e8-9e80-403a221946a7_story.html">things</a> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/16/opinion/trump-nato-european-union-history.html">will</a> <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/theworldpost/wp/2018/07/16/putin-trump/">not be ok</a>.” </p>
<p>Some of <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=fMoODlwAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">my research</a> focuses on the impact of increased international trade on U.S. standards of living, which <a href="http://gregcwright.weebly.com/uploads/8/2/7/5/8275912/rising-tide-weai.pdf">I show</a> are causally linked during the late 20th century. Most of the trade in this period occurred among rich nations and was dominated by the U.S.-Europe relationship. </p>
<p>By calling Europe a “foe,” Trump makes clear that he simply doesn’t understand why rich countries trade with one another, which, to be fair, is something that also puzzled economists for many years. </p>
<h2>Why rich countries trade</h2>
<p>Though in some ways it seems obvious why the U.S. and Europe trade with one another – some might enjoy Parmigiana from Italy, while others prefer Wisconsin cheddar – economists initially <a href="http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2009/12/basics.htm">had trouble</a> explaining exactly why there was so much trade among rich countries. Surely, they thought, the U.S. can produce good quality cheese at a cost that is similar to producers in Italy, and vice versa, so why would we need to go abroad to satisfy our palettes? </p>
<p>In 1979, economist Paul Krugman provided a clear answer that would eventually <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/economic-sciences/laureates/2008/press.html">win him</a> the Nobel Prize in economics. The first part of his answer was simple but important and boils down to the fact that consumers benefit from having a wide range of product varieties available to them, even if they are only small variations on the same item. </p>
<p>For instance, <a href="https://ustr.gov/countries-regions/europe-middle-east/europe/european-union">in 2016</a> the top U.S. exports to the EU were aircraft (US$38.5 billion), machinery ($29.4 billion) and pharmaceutical products ($26.4 billion). The top imports from the EU seem almost identical: machinery ($64.9 billion), pharmaceutical products ($55.2 billion) and vehicles ($54.6 billion). Although the product categories clearly overlap, there are important differences in the types of pharmaceuticals and machinery that are sold in each market. Consumers benefit from having all these options available to them. </p>
<p>The second part of Krugman’s answer was that, by producing for both markets, companies in Europe and the U.S. could reap greater economies of scale in production and lower their prices as a result. This has been found to indeed <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/Economics/courses/boileau/4309/Paper%203.pdf">be what happens</a> when countries trade. And more <a href="http://cid.econ.ucdavis.edu/Papers/Feenstra_Weinstein_jpe.pdf">recent research</a> has shown that increased foreign competition can also lower domestic prices. </p>
<p>These benefits have been quantified. For instance, the gains to the U.S. from new foreign product varieties and lower prices over the period 1992 to 2005 were equal to <a href="http://cid.econ.ucdavis.edu/Papers/Feenstra_Weinstein_jpe.pdf">about one percent of U.S. GDP</a> – or about $100 billion. </p>
<p>In short, Krugman’s answer emphasized the extent to which international trade between equals increases the overall size of the economic pie. And no pie has ever grown larger than the combined economies of the U.S. and Europe, which now <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/countries-and-regions/countries/united-states/">constitute</a> half of global GDP.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228276/original/file-20180718-142426-1jshe9l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228276/original/file-20180718-142426-1jshe9l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228276/original/file-20180718-142426-1jshe9l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228276/original/file-20180718-142426-1jshe9l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228276/original/file-20180718-142426-1jshe9l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228276/original/file-20180718-142426-1jshe9l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228276/original/file-20180718-142426-1jshe9l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Pfizer Inc. is headquartered in New York. Both the U.S. and the EU import and export pharmaceuticals.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/On-the-Money-Cheaper-Viagra/a7eb4d8ad5b14563b3705646a0ca8107/4/0">AP Photo/Richard Drew</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Largest trading partner</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c0003.html">European Union</a> is the largest U.S. trading partner in terms of its total bilateral trade and has been for the past several decades.</p>
<p>Overall, the U.S. <a href="https://ustr.gov/countries-regions/europe-middle-east/europe/european-union">imported $592 billion</a> in goods and services from the EU in 2016 and exported $501 billion, which represents about 19 percent of total U.S. trade and also represents about 19 percent of American GDP. </p>
<p><iframe id="t6bEs" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/t6bEs/3/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>A key feature of this trade is that <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/countries-and-regions/countries/united-states/">almost a third of it</a> happens within individual companies. In other words, it reflects multinational companies shipping products to themselves in order to serve their local market, or as inputs into local production. This type of trade is critical as it serves as the backbone of a <a href="http://oecdobserver.org/news/fullstory.php/aid/4262/EU-US_trade_and_investment_talks:_Why_they_matter.html">vast network</a> of business investments on both sides of the Atlantic, <a href="https://www.bea.gov/scb/pdf/2017/12-December/1217-activities-of-us-multinational-enterprises.pdf">supporting</a> hundreds of thousands of jobs. </p>
<p>It is also a network that propels the global economy: the EU or U.S. serves as the primary trading partner for nearly every country on Earth.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228254/original/file-20180718-142414-1muxzy3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228254/original/file-20180718-142414-1muxzy3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228254/original/file-20180718-142414-1muxzy3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228254/original/file-20180718-142414-1muxzy3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228254/original/file-20180718-142414-1muxzy3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228254/original/file-20180718-142414-1muxzy3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228254/original/file-20180718-142414-1muxzy3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A ship to shore crane prepares to load a shipping container onto a container ship in Savannah, Ga.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/US-China-Tariffs/453b3c52caa348cab5bb628a37a19d3e/9/0">AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Shipping and new institutions</h2>
<p>The U.S.-Europe trade relationship also laid the groundwork for the modern system of international trade via two distinct innovations: new shipping technologies and new global institutions.</p>
<p>On the technological front, the <a href="http://www.worldshipping.org/about-the-industry/history-of-containerization">introduction of the standard shipping container</a> in the 1960s set off the so-called second wave of globalization. This under-appreciated technology was conceived by the U.S Army during the 1950s and was perfected over Atlantic shipping routes. In short, by simply standardizing the size and shape of shipping containers, and building port infrastructure and ships to move them, <a href="http://eprints.brighton.ac.uk/14568/1/JIE%20accepted%20manuscript%20online%20version%20%281%29.pdf">massive economies of scale</a> in shipping were realized. As a result, today container ships the size of small cities are routed via sophisticated logistics to huge deepwater ports around the world. </p>
<p>These routes eventually made it profitable for other countries to invest in the large-scale port infrastructure that could handle modern container ships. This laid the groundwork for the eventual growth of massive container terminals throughout Asia, which now <a href="https://maritimeintelligence.informa.com/content/top-100-success">serve as the hubs</a> of the modern global supply chain. </p>
<p>At the same time that these new technologies were reducing the physical costs of doing business around the world, the U.S. and Europe were also creating <a href="https://www.foreignaffairs.com/anthologies/2011-12-14/archives-international-institutions">institutions</a> to define new international rules for trade and finance. Perhaps the most important one was the post-war General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs, which eventually became the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-the-wto-99274">World Trade Organization</a>, creating the first rules-based multilateral trade regime. A large body of research shows that these agreements have <a href="https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/7362891.pdf">increased trade</a> and, more importantly, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/joes.12087">raised incomes</a> around the world.</p>
<p>Overall, these advancements contributed to the <a href="http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/ass/article/viewFile/36581/20566">subsequent enrichment</a> of hundreds of millions of workers in Asia, Latin America and Africa by helping to integrate them into the global economy.</p>
<p>And when the world gets richer, the U.S. also benefits for many of the same reasons noted above: demand for U.S. products increases as incomes rise around the world, as does the variety of products the U.S. can import, and the prices of these goods typically fall. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228252/original/file-20180718-142423-1tf5lke.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228252/original/file-20180718-142423-1tf5lke.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228252/original/file-20180718-142423-1tf5lke.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228252/original/file-20180718-142423-1tf5lke.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228252/original/file-20180718-142423-1tf5lke.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228252/original/file-20180718-142423-1tf5lke.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228252/original/file-20180718-142423-1tf5lke.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A cartoon Trump blimp flies as a protesters speak out against Trump’s visit to London.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/APTOPIX-Britain-Trump-Visit/66460331f9b84b1c8e573d985f6c9dbd/18/0">AP Photo/Matt Dunham</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Taking the long view</h2>
<p>But it appears that President Trump sees the U.S. on the losing end of a failed relationship. </p>
<p>It is unsurprising that tensions with Europe have come to the forefront over perceived imbalances in trade, particularly for a president who is not afraid <a href="https://theconversation.com/trumps-go-it-alone-approach-to-china-trade-ignores-wtos-better-way-to-win-93918">to take long-time allies to task</a>. </p>
<p>This is because U.S. trade policy <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/06/normalizing-trade-relations-with-china-was-a-mistake/562403">has arguably been overly optimistic</a> in recent years, particularly with respect to China, whose accession to the WTO proved to be much more disruptive to labor markets around the world than was predicted. Previous U.S. administrations preferred patience over confrontation, leading to a perhaps inevitable backlash that has spilled into other relationships, such as the one with Europe. </p>
<p>However, the U.S. relationship with Europe is clearly different, primarily because it is longstanding and has been largely one of equals. But also because their shared values mean that there are many non-economic issues — such as the spread of liberal democracy and the promotion of human rights — that get advanced by the close economic ties. </p>
<p>It’s important to not underestimate what is at stake if the U.S.-Europe alliance is allowed to falter. Americans are likely in the midst of the <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/we-enjoy-the-most-peaceful-period-on-earth-ever_us_57ab4b34e4b08c46f0e47130">most peaceful era</a> in world history, and global economic integration, led from the beginning by the U.S. and Europe, <a href="https://voxeu.org/article/globalisation-promotes-peace">has been</a> a key contributing factor. Global extreme poverty is also <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/extreme-poverty">at its lowest point</a> ever, again in large part due to globalization. </p>
<p>These are the byproducts and legacies of seven decades of expanding international trade and should not be taken for granted.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/99829/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Greg Wright does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The president, who called the European Union a ‘foe’ following a series of meetings in Europe, may not realize just how much Americans have gained from their relationship with Europe.Greg Wright, Assistant Professor of Economics, University of California, MercedLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/861072017-10-25T12:55:28Z2017-10-25T12:55:28ZThe world speaks the language of men, but after #MeToo women must find their voice<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191821/original/file-20171025-25502-1ma0opp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mary_Pickford-desk.jpg">Hartsook Photo/Library of Congress</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It will be gratifying to many women to see the spread of the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/20/women-worldwide-use-hashtag-metoo-against-sexual-harassment">#MeToo campaign</a>, prompted by the revelations from dozens of women who have accused Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein of acts of sexual assault since the 1980s. Millions of women across the world have joined the campaign, breaking their silence on a shared experience of sexual harassment and assault. </p>
<p>The fact that it took a shared, global, voice to begin talking about the sexism that still underpins our society shows how difficult it is for lone voices to stand against abuses of male power and privilege. This is not just about Weinstein or the film industry. If some of Hollywood’s most influential women – among them Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, Ashley Judd, Reese Witherspoon – were compelled to stay silent for so long, what chance do most women have to speak truth to power?</p>
<p>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-must-do-better-to-protect-whistleblowers-and-investigators-like-daphne-caruana-galizia-85914">recent murder</a> of the Maltese journalist and blogger Daphne Caruana Galizia, killed by a car bomb near her home, is another example of the difficulty and danger involved in pursuing the truth. Caruana Galizia was an outspoken critic on her native island of Malta, using her <a href="https://daphnecaruanagalizia.com">blog</a> to expose what she saw as the corruption all around her.</p>
<p>Caruana Galizia also often drew attention to the <a href="https://daphnecaruanagalizia.com/2017/09/double-dose-silliness-bad-rep-women">problematic representation of women in Malta</a> and the government’s inability to endorse positive female role models, levelling criticism at a society in which women should be seen and not heard. In 2014 she drew attention to how <a href="https://daphnecaruanagalizia.com/2014/10/maltas-slips-down-to-99th-place-in-the-gender-rankings-under-the-most-feminist-government-in-history">Malta had slipped to 99th place</a> out of 142 in global rankings on gender equality, placing it below Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and Kazakhstan. Now Malta has lost the one woman, and according to many, the only person, who <a href="http://manueldelia.com/2017/09/problem-daphne-caruana-galizia/">dared to speak truth to power</a>.</p>
<h2>Shared pain, shared silence</h2>
<p>Should we be surprised by the murder of a leading journalist, described by her family as the outcome of a “long witch hunt”? Or to learn that dozens of Hollywood celebrities, and those they confided in, felt compelled to keep secret the sexual predations of a Hollywood producer? </p>
<p>Female voice has long been seen as dangerous, deviant, and untrustworthy. My own work is often concerned with the careers of the first women in Britain who made writing their profession, and who sought to make their voices heard in a male-dominated world. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191807/original/file-20171025-25497-p8e8e1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191807/original/file-20171025-25497-p8e8e1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/191807/original/file-20171025-25497-p8e8e1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=716&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191807/original/file-20171025-25497-p8e8e1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=716&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191807/original/file-20171025-25497-p8e8e1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=716&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191807/original/file-20171025-25497-p8e8e1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191807/original/file-20171025-25497-p8e8e1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/191807/original/file-20171025-25497-p8e8e1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A portrait of Aphra Behn, who ‘earned women the right to speak their minds’.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aphra_Behn_by_Peter_Lely_ca._1670.jpg">Peter Lely/Yale Center for British Art</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Women like <a href="https://writersinspire.org/content/aphra-behn">Aphra Behn</a>, <a href="http://www.notablebiographies.com/supp/Supplement-Fl-Ka/Haywood-Eliza.html">Eliza Haywood</a>, <a href="http://www.juggernaut-theatre.org/first-100-years-the-professional-female-playwright/susanna-centlivre/">Susannah Centlivre</a> and <a href="http://www.hertsmemories.org.uk/content/herts-history/people/delarivier-manley">Delarivier Manley</a> wrote some of the first novels in England, Britain’s first journalism, and the most popular plays of the century. Their work was widely read and hugely influential. But they were sneered at in their age on account of their gender. Women, many claimed, shouldn’t write, and certainly shouldn’t write for the public.</p>
<p>Virginia Woolf famously <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2007/nov/13/aphrabehnstillaradicalexa">wrote</a> that “all women together ought to let flowers fall upon the tomb of Aphra Behn, for it was she who earned them the right to speak their minds”. But Behn herself conceded that the voice of professional writers was gendered male. </p>
<p>In the preface to her play, The Luckey Chance (1687), she requested “the Priviledge for my Masculine Part the Poet in me … to tread in those successful Paths my Predecessors have so long thriv’d in”, before going on to <a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo/A27303.0001.001/1:3?rgn=div1;view=toc">note that</a>: “If I must not, because of my Sex, have this Freedom, … I lay down my Quill, and you shall hear no more of me … because I will be kinder to my brothers of the Pen, than they have been to a defenceless Woman.” Behn’s words speak clearly to the gendered inequalities of the professional literary marketplace.</p>
<p>In almost every work written by a woman that I read, the author is forced to publicly negotiate her relationship to ideas of truth. This is especially the case when that woman writes about her life, and comments directly on the effects of the society in which she lives. One example is found in the memoirs written by the Duchess of Mazarin in the 1670s. Even though she was a powerfully-connected aristocrat, Mazarin addresses her reader directly to <a href="https://www.lrb.co.uk/v30/n24/elisabeth-ladenson/the-virgin-and-i">acknowledge the expectation that women remain silent</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I know the chief Glory of a Woman ought to consist in not making her self to be publicly talked of. And those that know me, know like-wise, that I never too much pleasure in things that make too much Noise. But it is not always in our choice to live our own way.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Do women have any more public credibility now than when Mazarin wrote these words? A survey of US university undergraduates by Benjamin Schmidt suggests not. Schmidt’s <a href="http://benschmidt.org/2015/02/06/rate-my-professor/">database of responses</a> draws upon 14m reviews from the <a href="http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/">Rate My Professors</a> website to show the differing usage of words according to the gender of the academic reviewed. Positive terms like “smart”, “intellect”, “genius” are far more widely used to describe male academics, while negative terms like “bossy”, “shrill”, “strict” and “demanding” are far more often applied to those that are women.</p>
<h2>Tackling the cause, not the symptom</h2>
<p>Earlier this year the UN launched a major campaign, <a href="https://www.23percentrobbery.com/#about">#stoptherobbery</a>, to address the issue of gender inequality expressed in the pay gap that leads women to be underpaid – robbed – on average 23% of their income compared to men performing the same work. It was an inequality that was also exposed with the recent publication of the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/sep/06/bbc-chief-unveils-plans-to-tackle-gender-pay-gap-and-pay-inequality">salaries of the BBC’s highest earners</a>. Inequality is most visible when it can be measured in easily quantifiable ways, like the pay cheques people take home. Yet while the UN’s campaign is laudable, it addresses a symptom of gender inequality rather than its cause.</p>
<p>The pioneering work of Australian feminist Dale Spender in the 1970s and 80s showeded how the world we live in is one <a href="https://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/ot/spender.htm">described and negotiated through a male-centred language</a>. This is a language in which “man comes to stand in for humanity”, “words reserved for women are derivations/deviations from the word for men (actress, woman)” and in which we can immediately perceive sexual double standards in attitudes towards the same behaviour across the genders (for example in the linguistic equivalence of “stud” and “slut”).</p>
<p>How do women find equality in a world governed by a male-centred language, and the male-centred structures it upholds? Equal pay would help, but that won’t change the root of the problem. The most important step is to find a voice. But that, it seems, is still proving hard, and history is set against us. How many more women will lose jobs, reputations, and even their lives in the struggle to make themselves heard?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/86107/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Claudine van Hensbergen has received funding from: Arts Council England; Arts and Humanities Research Council; British Academy; Chawton House Library; School of Advanced Study, University of London; University of Oxford. She is an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a member of the University and College Union.</span></em></p>Women’s voices have been seen as unwanted or untruthful, but the snowballing sexual assault revelations from the #MeToo campaign show that women must find their voices.Claudine van Hensbergen, Senior Lecturer in 18th Century English Literature, Northumbria University, NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/859142017-10-19T15:54:16Z2017-10-19T15:54:16ZWe must do better to protect whistleblowers and investigators like Daphne Caruana Galizia<p>The killing of the Maltese investigative journalist and blogger <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/16/malta-car-bomb-kills-panama-papers-journalist">Daphne Caruana Galizia</a> in a car bomb near her home recalls other similar killings, such as the cold-blooded murder of Italian crime reporter <a href="https://wikivisually.com/wiki/Giancarlo_Siani">Giancarlo Siani</a>, shot 10 times in the head in 1985, or the assassination of Russian journalist <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/05/ten-years-putin-press-kremlin-grip-russia-media-tightens">Anna Stepanovna Politkovskaja</a>, shot and killed in her Moscow apartment building in 2006.</p>
<p>Caruana Galizia was brave enough to expose corruption in Maltese politics, including revelations that may have prompted prime minister Joseph Muscat to <a href="https://euobserver.com/beyond-brussels/137739">call early elections this year</a>. She accused Muscat and his wife among others of holding secret offshore bank accounts to hide payments they received from the ruling family of Azerbaijan, information which came from the Panama Papers leak. Muscat denied the claims.</p>
<p>The Azerbaijan regime has been accused of using a <a href="https://civicsolidarity.org/sites/default/files/az_lobbying_corruption_report_10_march_2017_public_version_color_1.pdf">sophisticated system of lobbying and paying off western officials</a> to blunt international criticism of its actions at home. This practice has sparked great concern at the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/05/azerbaijan-revelations-could-herald-shake-up-at-council-of-europe">Council of Europe</a>. </p>
<p>Caruana Galizia’s continuous, vital work of exposing corrupt practices led the website <a href="http://www.politico.eu/list/politico-28-class-of-2017-ranking/">Politico</a> to include her among the 28 individuals who are shaping, shaking and stirring Europe in 2017. Her murder demands some reflection on the effectiveness of current anti-corruption strategy in Europe.</p>
<h2>Corrupt practices still stalk Europe</h2>
<p>Global efforts to fight corruption led to key international legal instruments such as the <a href="https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/corruption/uncac.html">United Nations Convention Against Corruption</a> and the <a href="http://www.oecd.org/corruption/oecdantibriberyconvention.htm">OECD Anti-Bribery Convention</a>, which in turn have resulted in the implementation of legislation at national level such as the UK <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/23/contents">Bribery Act 2010</a>. But corruption still appears widespread on the old continent and pervades every aspect of European society. </p>
<p>Only recently, <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/italian-professors-arrested-in-university-nepotism-row/news-story/28e4e904b5ce5e2d1169928fe23e8141">seven tax law professors were arrested in Italy</a> having allegedly plotted to have their protégés appointed to key academic posts. This was just the tip of the iceberg: the investigation subsequently unveiled the presence of systemic corruption in the Italian academy, with academics also accused of evaluating students not based on merit <a href="https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/7047-italy-7-professors-arrested-dozens-investigated-over-exam-rigging">but on their shared personal, professional, or group interests</a>.</p>
<p>Over the last decade, the most significant steps forward in the fight against corruption have been made <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/series/panama-papers">thanks to the courage of leakers, whistleblowers and investigative journalists</a>, who help bring the most serious allegations of misconduct to light. They are the true heroes of our time, and the ineffectiveness of internal controls and external auditors mean we must rely on them to identify widespread corruption. So we should do our best – much more than we do – to ensure they are supported and protected, and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/apr/10/barclays-boss-jes-staley-may-lose-bonus-over-bid-to-expose-whistleblower">react strongly against any attempt to suppress them</a>.</p>
<h2>Stronger medicine required</h2>
<p>We must treat corruption with the importance it deserves and adopt more effective strategies to fight its spread. We should think about fighting corruption through the adoption of investigative techniques and the related legal instruments developed in order to combat organised crime, like those implemented in Italy against the Mafia. In too many European states, including the UK, there is still much reluctance to use effective investigative tools such as telephone tapping and audio surveillance on a large scale.</p>
<p>There also needs to be within Europol a <a href="http://ukandeu.ac.uk/explainers/europol-its-origins-functions-and-future-development/">centralised, highly trained and well funded intelligence and investigative unit</a> tasked with conducting autonomous investigations on corruption and organised crime in cases where there are doubts that they would be performed in an effective way by the local authorities of a member state. For example, where there are insufficient resources for investigators, a lack of law enforcement expertise, or where high-level politicians or public officials are enmeshed in corruption. </p>
<p>This is especially true if we take into consideration that, as a <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/sites/homeaffairs/files/doc_centre/crime/docs/study_on_links_between_organised_crime_and_corruption_en.pdf">recent study</a> has demonstrated, even a single ineffective or weak public institution can make the entire law enforcement system of a country vulnerable to corruption and organised crime. It makes no sense that a European prime minister has to turn to the FBI for help, as Joseph Muscat in Malta has done.</p>
<p>There is an <a href="https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=81106">intimate connection between corruption and organised crime</a>. A corrupt environment is one in which criminal organisations can thrive. Criminal organisations often use corruption as a means to ensure the protection of illegal activities. This leads the economic interests of corrupt politicians, public officials and corporate executives to mingle with those of criminal organisations, creating a complex web of shared interests in illicit schemes hidden behind the veil of shell companies and offshore tax heavens. When this occurs, the wrongdoers do not hesitate to resort to violence to cover up their crimes and defend their economic interests. </p>
<p>Too many honest people have lost their lives because they revealed the connections between criminals and politicians. It is not surprising that, of <a href="https://cpj.org/killed/">over 1,250 journalists killed since 1992</a>, 46% were covering politics and 20% were covering corruption, whereas only 15% were reporting on other crimes. We must not forget those who paid with their lives for attempting to bring about a better and more honest world.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/85914/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Costantino Grasso does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia has been killed in Malta – but we must accept that corruption is a problem for all of Europe.Costantino Grasso, Lecturer in Business Management and Law, University of East LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/506342015-11-13T13:52:06Z2015-11-13T13:52:06ZTo help Africa and tackle migration, Europe must back local entrepreneurs<p>People leave Africa for a number of different reasons. Persecution, compulsory military service, war and turmoil are the headline causes. But just as important are the lack of opportunities for employment for young people and poor welfare conditions. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, an approach defined <a href="http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/meetings/international-summit/2015/11/11-12/">at the summit of EU and African leaders in Malta</a> does not focus enough on tackling these root causes of the current rates of migration into Europe from Africa – it merely treats some of the symptoms.</p>
<p>Billions of Euros have been pledged to support legal migration into Europe. The summit also discussed ways to help these African countries to take back failed asylum seekers and economic migrants. Meanwhile, visa regulations have also been relaxed for African business-people <a href="http://www.euractiv.com/sections/development-policy/eus-migration-cash-fund-africa-falls-short-319411">and students</a>.</p>
<p>But often those leaving Africa are young people with the sort of talent and drive that Africa needs to create its future economic growth. So this brain drain is bad news for the continent, when – if the continent were able to hold on to its brightest and best – the potential for growth in Africa would huge. Interest in the undeniable opportunities that exists <a href="http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/africa/lions_on_the_move">in African markets</a> has prompted a flurry of visits from Western leaders – including the US president, Barack Obama, in July. </p>
<p>But entrepreneurs in Africa come up against a number of problems, chief among them a lack of investment – and if Africa is to realise this vast potential the current trickle of investment needs to become <a href="https://theconversation.com/after-obama-comes-the-big-challenge-for-africas-entrepreneurs-45383">more of a raging torrent</a>.</p>
<h2>Small vision</h2>
<p>Most of the aid that goes to Africa – and the additional support that has been announced at the Malta summit – is not focused on providing stable wage-paying opportunities for young Africans. Nor is it focused on inspiring highly educated Africans to remain and to create and grow innovative businesses that will drive African economic growth and welfare.</p>
<p>Of the current aid that is focused on entrepreneurship and economic development (<a href="https://www.gov.uk/.../SID-2014-revised-UNDP-figure-feb15.pdf">a small proportion, incidentally, of total aid</a>), much is directed towards starting micro businesses and “necessity” entrepreneurship as an alternative means to poverty alleviation. The problem with this is that these jobs often in <a href="http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/features/WCMS_120470/lang--en/index.htm">vulnerable businesses</a> with high rate of failure. The firms that these entrepreneurs typically build have very little chance of growing and surviving for a <a href="https://theconversation.com/after-obama-comes-the-big-challenge-for-africas-entrepreneurs-45383">number of reasons</a>.</p>
<p>Most empirical evidence from around the world <a href="cep.lse.ac.uk/pubs/download/dp1274.pdf">shows</a> that the main contribution to net increases in employment is from high-growth small and medium-sized firms (SMEs). Africa needs investment and commitment to develop more of these high-growth SMEs, rather than a predominant focus on micro firms.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/101744/original/image-20151112-9388-h6i7ua.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/101744/original/image-20151112-9388-h6i7ua.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101744/original/image-20151112-9388-h6i7ua.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101744/original/image-20151112-9388-h6i7ua.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101744/original/image-20151112-9388-h6i7ua.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101744/original/image-20151112-9388-h6i7ua.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101744/original/image-20151112-9388-h6i7ua.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">One of many micro businesses in Africa.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/adavey/2212742545/in/photolist-4nwTgx-6uxKaV-8g3282-8g2tZa-8g2Cce-5P36bQ-eagTcx-9cqjhT-w9mYB1-j2Q3w-87Ggf5-dFHH8e-uB2SS-3dR2P1-i5JFaA-ycd36v-9jnu5N-9mZAQF-pQ5VwC-58Yaku-pNTT6z-dfjExL-7xgXVH-rksn8D-ea7Cug-9biYMx-9mZyxH-6ue2rb-6uBYQu-nejZja-fEuuNW-fEcPsn-fEuscq-hkKoXG-iYAtXY-efE2U8-bNpzzv-rbn1U-9jjiCa-hsMcp-eadieC-eadioG-ea7Cxk-58YakN-pT7xHR-bo9ASE-jfuyTM-jfuVJV-jfwh86-jfwQUP">Alan/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Larger businesses tend to be run by entrepreneurs with better connections than the people who run micro enterprises. Consequently that have better access to finance – not to mention the valuable experience of the challenges and costs involved in navigating the complex and uncertain regulatory and general business environments that exist in many African states.</p>
<p>Evidence on entrepreneurship and business growth in Africa shows that medium and large firms are typically more productive than their smaller <a href="feb.kuleuven.be/public/n07057/cv/vb05edcc.pdf">counterparts</a>. They provide more stable <a href="http://www.brookings.edu/.../aid%20employment%20africa%20page/12%20le.">employment</a> (and incomes), have a greater propensity to <a href="ink.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs11187-011-9333-8.pdf">innovate </a>and <a href="http://isb.sagepub.com/content/30/4/367.abstract">export</a> and are better able at adapting to volatile local business <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11187-009-9193-7">conditions</a>. </p>
<p>Yet the little support that goes towards fostering entrepreneurship in Africa is heavily <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=1cwQiUhmu_oC&pg=PA116&lpg=PA116&dq=focus+of+african+entrepreneurship+policy&source=bl&ots=uQ9HwbhRFT&sig=uD-XKdVwPaw0UWhcLthNjB8YUNM&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CEcQ6AEwBmoVChMIjrPfkMmLyQIVAsIaCh2ntg2F#v=onepage&q=focus%20of%20african%20entrepreneurship%20policy&f=false">focused at micro</a> and unproductive [<a href="http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/africa/africa_at_work">small</a> <a href="econpapers.repec.org/RePEc:adb:adbadr:627">firms</a>.</p>
<h2>How to keep talent</h2>
<p>The EU would do much better to include specific finance aimed at entrepreneurship – and particularly the support of high-growth small firms and larger-scale productive businesses owned by experienced entrepreneurs. Measures could include ways of increasing the involvement of these experienced and successful entrepreneurs, such as creating effective policy and regulatory advisory groups and creating better functioning, more robust networks and linkages between the entrepreneurs in Africa and in Europe. </p>
<p>A tax incentive for European entrepreneurs and institutions to invest in Africa and/or with local African entrepreneurs would be very valuable. Additional measures could also include advice and funding to increase, improve and develop investment legislation for equity finance in countries where this is thin on the ground. </p>
<p>Increasing trade further between the EU and Africa would also be a massive help. This means further reductions in the barriers for firms that are trying to <a href="http://www.un.org/en/africa/osaa/pdf/pubs/2015era-uneca.pdf">export from Africa</a>. </p>
<p>Europe could also help by providing more training and mentoring schemes where experienced entrepreneurs both in Africa and Europe assist novices with potential. Entrepreneur-backed and driven angel and venture capital funds and tax incentives to bolster and encourage these types of equity finance would also help to increase the amount of finance available to promising start-ups across Africa.</p>
<p>These measures could ultimately lead to increasing the supply of wage paying opportunities for African youths and talented workers thereby reducing the motivations and causes for migration, while contributing to economic growth and development within the continent.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/50634/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Antonio C. Malfense Fierro does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Malta summit between the EU and Africa solves the symptoms of migration but fails to tackle the causes.Antonio C. Malfense Fierro, Lecturer in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, University of HullLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/505422015-11-11T18:08:45Z2015-11-11T18:08:45ZEU leaders seek to share responsibility for migration in Malta<p>European and African leaders are in the Maltese capital <a href="http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/meetings/international-summit/2015/11/11-12/">Valletta</a> to discuss how they can better cooperate on migration. </p>
<p>Attendees will discuss ideas about how to deal with the devastating consequences of people trying to enter Europe by unauthorised channels. European leaders have agreed to provide African partners with resources to manage migration. But this, like so many other measures to be discussed at this summit, seems a lot like one side trying to persuade another to take a problem away. </p>
<p>Cooperation on this issue is by no means new, but the events unfolding on European shores over the past year show just how <a href="http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/pais/news/?newsItem=094d43f5509003300150aee491f16a51">limited</a> the results of this co-operation have been.</p>
<p>As more and more people <a href="http://data.unhcr.org/mediterranean/regional.php">die trying to cross the Mediterranean</a> from places such as Libya and Turkey to Italy or Greece, pressure has grown to come up with a <a href="https://theconversation.com/to-deal-with-the-refugee-crisis-you-need-to-understand-the-cause-40737">solution</a> that gets to the roots of the current situation. </p>
<p>At this summit, European leaders are seeking to emphasise the importance of <a href="http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/policies/legal-migration/">“shared responsibility”</a> in managing and preventing migration. The EU’s “<a href="http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/what-we-do/policies/international-affairs/global-approach-to-migration/index_en.htm">global approach</a>” to migration is under the spotlight.</p>
<h2>On the table in Malta</h2>
<p>The European Commission is launching a €1.8bn <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/what-we-do/policies/european-agenda-migration/background-information/docs/2_factsheet_emergency_trust_fund_africa_en.pdf">emergency trust fund for Africa</a> at Valletta, to help address migration at source.</p>
<p>This <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/what-we-do/policies/european-agenda-migration/background-information/docs/2_factsheet_emergency_trust_fund_africa_en.pdf">pools resources</a> from the EU <a href="http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=URISERV:r12102">development fund</a> and European member states. It can be used in regions of the Sahel and Lake Chad, Northern Africa, and the Horn of Africa to tackle the “root causes” of migration, such as economic and social instability.</p>
<p>But while this may appear a generous deal, the fund creates a donor-type relationship with Africa that privileges European concerns to prevent migration. This runs the risk of reinforcing inequality by stopping people from escaping conflict, poverty and instability to start a new life in Europe.</p>
<p>The EU has <a href="http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-13-1253_en.htm">agreed</a> to resettle more than 20,000 refugees from outside the EU at the request of UN, and to relocate 160,000 people who have already arrived and are in need of protection. Yet an emphasis on border security and regional development mechanisms nevertheless suggests that “shared responsibility” in the area of protection is orientated toward preventing vulnerable migrants from reaching the EU.</p>
<p>Discussions about legal migration channels to date have mainly focused on plugging the labour market gaps that benefit the EU. This includes highly skilled migration, intra-corporate transfers, temporary seasonal migration, as well as migration for research and studying. What is described as a <a href="http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/policies/legal-migration/">shared responsibility</a> is heavily skewed towards meeting EU requirements.</p>
<p>Cooperating on “return and readmission” is presented as an important complement to an open migration policy and as necessary for the credibility of an EU that facilitates international protection and legal migration. But return only works in one direction – from the EU to Africa. </p>
<p>The “global approach” being touted in Malta does not exactly involve “shared responsibility”. The whole discussion on managing migration – from investing in development to bolstering security and expanding humanitarian efforts – is geared towards preventing unauthorised entry into the EU. Even talk of protecting the most vulnerable reflects a desire to keep them out. Surely European leaders can do better than this by now?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/50542/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vicki Squire receives funding from ESRC and the Leverhulme Foundation. </span></em></p>A €1.8bn trust fund is on offer if only African countries will take the problem away.Vicki Squire, Reader in International Security, University of WarwickLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/259242014-05-12T05:18:18Z2014-05-12T05:18:18ZEU election: Malta’s noisy campaign hinges on national issues<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/48183/original/jkxq85rj-1399645654.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Island life.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mascardo1/3605708037/">Tom Mascardo</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The European election campaign in Malta is as noisy as any Maltese political campaign can be. But Europe is just a peripheral subject, as the main competing parties are almost exclusively focused on national issues.</p>
<p>There are six MEP seats to be filled in this election. The Labour and Nationalist parties, the only two parties represented in the Maltese Parliament, are likely to claim three each. Labour currently in government, has fielded 13 candidates, while the Nationalist Party have 11 running. </p>
<p>The larger parties tend to field as many candidates as they can in order to be able to attract more votes. Malta’s voting system is based on the single transferable vote. The candidates with the fewer votes are eliminated and their votes are passed to the other candidates until the six seats are filled. </p>
<p>Among the other parties, Alternattiva Demokratica (the green party) has two, the far-right Imperium Europa three, the Eurosceptic Alleanza Bidla (the Alliance for Change) two, and the Alleanza Liberali (Liberal Alliance) and fringe one-man party <a href="http://di-ve.com/news/zaren-ta-l-ajkla-takes-it-home">Partit tal-Ajkla</a> (Eagle) one each. On May 9, one of the labour candidates pullout of the race after losing a case in the criminal court and was handed a two-year suspended jail sentence.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/48182/original/h3y2k27w-1399644479.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/48182/original/h3y2k27w-1399644479.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/48182/original/h3y2k27w-1399644479.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=295&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/48182/original/h3y2k27w-1399644479.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=295&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/48182/original/h3y2k27w-1399644479.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=295&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/48182/original/h3y2k27w-1399644479.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/48182/original/h3y2k27w-1399644479.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/48182/original/h3y2k27w-1399644479.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Europa.eu</span></span>
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<p>Around 330,000 people are eligible to vote, including citizens from other EU countries resident in Malta who have registered to vote here. Voter turnout is always <a href="http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090215/local/malta-has-highest-free-voter-turnout-in-the-world.245033">very high</a> in Maltese elections, with 93% participating in the national election on March 9 last year. </p>
<p>But there are signs of a decline: in the 2003 polls, when Malta’s EU membership was confirmed by referendum, the turnout was 95.7% for the general election and 91% for the referendum. In the 2004 and 2009 European elections, voter turnout was much lower, coming in at 82.4% and 78.8% respectively – and it is projected to decline further in the 2014 election. </p>
<p>Broadly speaking, the Maltese have <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/eb/eb80/eb80_publ_en.pdf">a very positive view of the EU</a> by the standards of most EU member populations. This implies that only a small proportion of those voters who stay away from the polls do so out of euroscepticism; the reasons that keep the rest away remain unclear. </p>
<p>One potential explanation is that Malta is eternally in campaign mode, and election fatigue is therefore extremely high. To make matters worse, Maltese politics is highly adversarial and polarised. Insularity has shaped Maltese culture and politics, and this aspect tends to be on full display in political campaigns.</p>
<h2>Introversion</h2>
<p>Although European elections will not change the national political landscape, where Labour enjoys a nine-seat parliamentary majority (out of 69), national issues predominate.</p>
<p>Above all, the dominant issue is immigration; next comes unemployment (which is <a href="http://countryeconomy.com/unemployment/malta">less than 7%</a>), followed by <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/chris-packham-questioned-by-police-in-malta-after-filming-bird-hunters-9293272.html">bird hunting</a> and governance. </p>
<p>But since the campaign is almost entirely focused on national issues, it is difficult to work out where Maltese politicians stand on major European issues. We have heard next to nothing about the Ukraine crisis, the eurozone recovery, or any of the other major issues discussed in European politics.</p>
<p>And Malta certainly faces the same challenges as many other countries across the EU. It needs to improve its <a href="http://www.mbb.org.mt/Articles/Article.aspx?Section=Newsroom&ArticleId=2505&Article=Malta%E2%80%99s+Competitiveness%3A+Potential+for+growth+in+niche+markets">competitiveness</a>, achieve the <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/index_en.htm">Europe 2020 goals</a>, reduce <a href="http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2013-09-20/news/fitch-downgrades-malta-as-public-debts-get-worse-2668462080/">public debt</a> and government spending, improve <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/justice/gender-equality/files/epo_campaign/130911_epo_country_profile_malta.pdf">gender equality</a>, and shore up its <a href="http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/25754/labour-s-energy-mix-will-satisfy-eu-energy-security-demands-minister-20130401">energy security</a>. All these have been sidelined in the European campaign.</p>
<p>There are huge expectations about this election. Some voters are curious to know who will win, while the majority are keen to have it over and done with – but only those who have already decided they will not vote are indifferent to the outcome.</p>
<p>The general feeling is that the first decade of EU membership has been very good for Malta – but as the absence of European issues from the campaign shows, it is not clear what the Maltese want to achieve from here onwards.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/25924/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Roderick Pace does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The European election campaign in Malta is as noisy as any Maltese political campaign can be. But Europe is just a peripheral subject, as the main competing parties are almost exclusively focused on national…Roderick Pace, Professor, Institute for European Studies, University of MaltaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/160782013-07-15T20:53:26Z2013-07-15T20:53:26ZMalta’s ‘push back’ stand-off: what can Australia learn?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/27451/original/nh4w642s-1373861674.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Coalition should heed the legal lessons of an attempt by Maltese authorities to 'push back' Somali asylum seekers.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA/Lino Arrigo Azzopardi</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Malta has become the latest country to try to “push back” asylum seekers, implementing a policy similar to that being <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/abbotts-copycat-towback-plan-wont-stop-the-boats-20130714-2pxyg.html">advocated by the Coalition</a> as its “Real Solution” to the phenomenon of boats arriving on Australian shores.</p>
<p>In policies reminiscent of Australia, the Maltese government is scrambling to appear tough on migration and depict the arrival of asylum seekers as a crisis that warrants a security response.</p>
<h2>Where has this ‘Real Solution’ landed Malta?</h2>
<p>Like Australia, Malta has seen a significant increase in the number of people seeking asylum arriving by boat on its shores or within its territorial waters. Numbers surged after 2011 following conflict in North Africa. The stretch of water between Malta and Africa is known as “one giant graveyard”, and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) <a href="http://www.unhcr.org/4fa908619.html">figures</a> suggest 1500 people drowned or went missing in this part of the Mediterranean Sea in 2011.</p>
<p>The Maltese government is currently trying to “push back” members of a group of 102 Somali refugees who <a href="http://refugeeresettlementwatch.wordpress.com/2013/07/10/will-malta-push-back-latest-batch-of-illegal-alien-somalis-to-libya/">arrived by boat</a> on July 9. According to the Maltese NGO <a href="http://www.pfcmalta.org/uploads/1/2/1/7/12174934/pfc_about_expulsion.pdf">People for Change Foundation</a>, the UNHCR and all other NGOs were denied access to the group which included 41 women, two infants and 59 men.</p>
<p>The Somali women and children on board were transferred to detention, in accordance with Malta’s policy of mandatory detention. Detention centres in Malta <a href="http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/07/18/malta-migrant-detention-violates-rights">have been criticised</a> by various human rights groups – such as Amnesty International, Medicins Sans Frontières and Human Rights Watch – as inhumane and unhygienic.</p>
<p>The fate of the other Somali men on board is less clear. Media reports had suggested the Maltese government were preparing to deport them to Libya without assessing their claims for asylum.</p>
<p>Somalia is home to one of the world’s worst humanitarian and security crises. Statistically, those the Maltese government are trying to push back are highly likely to receive some form of refugee protection. In 2012, <a href="http://www.nso.gov.mt/statdoc/document_file.aspx?id=3622">90% of those</a> who applied for asylum in Malta received such protection. Similarly, most asylum seekers arriving in Australia by boat will secure refugee protection.</p>
<p>However, deportation to Libya, a non-signatory country to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, exposes asylum seekers to arrest, detention and extortion.</p>
<p>On the planned deportation, Maltese prime minister Joseph Muscat <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23253648">reportedly told</a> the Times of Malta that: “this is not push back, it is a message that we are not pushovers”. University of Malta migration expert Maria Pisani <a href="http://academia.edu/934092/Theres_an_elephant_in_the_room_and_shes_rejected_and_black_Observations_on_rejected_female_asylum_seekers_from_sub-Saharan_Africa_in_Malta">notes</a> that Malta’s history and location between Africa, the Middle East and Europe, means “defending Europe from invasion” figures strongly in Malta’s national consciousness. Racism is a real consequence of policies that portray migrants as dangerous.</p>
<p>To prevent their deportation, a number of NGOs including the People for Change Foundation and the Jesuit Refugee Service <a href="http://www.voanews.com/content/malta-forced-to-cancel-repatriation-of-african-refugees/1699185.html">successfully applied</a> to the European Court of Human Rights for an intervention. The Maltese government have agreed to suspend the deportations until the matters before the Court are resolved and a standoff continues.</p>
<h2>Malta and ‘push backs’</h2>
<p>Up until now, the Maltese government’s participation in other push back schemes had been unclear, although they supported Italy’s previous policy of interdiction. Italy’s interdiction practices were struck down by the European Court of Human Rights in the case of <a href="http://www.refworld.org/docid/4f4507942.html">Hirsi v. Italy</a>.</p>
<p>An <a href="http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20101215/local/amnestys-report-peppered-with-inaccuracies-ministry.341108">incident</a> in 2010 had brought the Maltese government into the spotlight. The Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) rescued half of the occupants of a vessel, taking them to Malta. The others boarded another vessel that returned to Libya. Amnesty International found those returned to Libya were placed in detention and beaten. AFM crew members stated that the people “volunteered” to go back to Libya, yet the UNHCR has questioned the logic of this.</p>
<p>Push backs are against international human rights law. States <a href="http://www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sheets/61a-complementary.htm">are obliged</a> to temporarily admit asylum seekers intercepted at sea and not to commit refoulement by returning them to where they have left. In essence, push backs and turning boats around offer no solutions at all.</p>
<h2>Leadership from the Catholic Church</h2>
<p>Recent comments by the leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, ought to make a significant contribution to the national debate on migration in the predominantly Catholic Malta. Their impact on Australia is yet to be felt.</p>
<p>Last week, Pope Francis visited the Italian island of Lampedusa where numbers of asylum seekers have arrived by boat from North Africa. The Pope <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/08/pope-francis-condemns-indifference-suffering">criticised</a> the “globalisation of indifference” and those that had “deadened their hearts” to the daily reality of asylum seekers and migrants kept out of the Global North. He was critical of policy that contributed to loss of life at sea. </p>
<p>Perhaps these comments will influence those attuned to religion on both sides of politics in Australia, and foster a more sophisticated global migration policy than the current “stop the boats” or <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/no-advantage-asylum-policy-needs-explanation-minister-20130709-2pnlw.html">“no advantage”</a> mantras can offer.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/16078/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alison Gerard does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Malta has become the latest country to try to “push back” asylum seekers, implementing a policy similar to that being advocated by the Coalition as its “Real Solution” to the phenomenon of boats arriving…Alison Gerard, Senior Lecturer in Justice Studies, Charles Sturt UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.