Does anyone of you out there recall how, not long ago, MEP Alex Agius Saliba was nominated for the ‘Youth Champion of the Mandate’ prize, which rewards MEPs for the work they have performed throughout the last five years?

That wasn’t a one-off achievement, mind you. He had previously been nominated for the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Award (2020), the Health and Wellbeing Award (2022), and the Digital Strategy and the Single Market Award (2023). Last year, he was the only Maltese MEP to earn a nomination in the Parliament Magazine Awards.

Anyone in his right senses cannot help but hail and laud Agius Saliba’s work in campaigning for workers’ rights, including his championing of the right to disconnect in the EU. Thanks to efforts spearheaded by him, the EP also approved legislation mandating that small electronic devices have a common charger. He was also behind a drive to investigate whether food importers who enjoy a de facto monopoly were artificially inflating food prices, which later revealed some truth.

We can be sure that he will continue building on those achievements in the best interests of Maltese consumers, the vulnerable, and the working class. His persistent dedication to the Maltese people and unwavering commitment to our nation’s well-being are truly in a class of their own.

MEP Josianne Cutajar, too, had her share of notable achievements. The vote in favour of her Report on Europe’s Strategy for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises was one of two of Dr Cutajar’s important achievements in 2020. Just a few weeks before, she had just been appointed Chairperson to the European Parliament’s Working Group on Tourism and Travel Mobility of SME Connect. That Working Group gathered under its wing thousands of stakeholders in the sector, representing the interests of small and medium-sized enterprises, mostly those of our country.

Going back in time, precisely in 2019, then-Labour MEP Miriam Dalli made it to Vote Watch Europe’s top 100 list of influential lawmakers in the outgoing European Parliament legislature. Indeed, she ranked 28 out of the 100 most influential lawmakers throughout that year.

She was a master of building progressive alliances to counter the conservatives in the European Parliament and the German car industry in matters related to climate change and migration policies. In the outgoing legislature of that year, Dalli was responsible for driving important legislation that set ambitious targets for cuts in carbon dioxide emissions from cars. She faced strong opposition from the car industry, which wanted lower targets. The Labour MEP was also instrumental in proposing a new €10 billion Asylum, Migration and Integration fund.

A year later, MEP Alfred Sant left his mark after being appointed a member of FISC, the permanent tax subcommittee of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee in the European Parliament, a body that had just been created as part of the fight against tax fraud and for financial transparency.

During his years as an MEP, Alfred Sant accomplished several achievements with his participation in the previous special committees on tax, most notably in the protection of whistleblowers and in tax transparency.

 Alfred Sant’s membership in FISC was particularly important given Malta’s commitment in favour of reforms to strengthen the country’s institutions and enhance good governance, as well as the dialogue between the Maltese government and EU institutions on governance, enforcement of the anti-money laundering framework and the fight against financial crime.

In 2021, MEP Cyrus Engerer was appointed by the Socialists and Democrats group as a negotiator on the EU Parliament Report regarding proposals for an EU Directive on the standards of applicants for international protection. Weeks before, he had been appointed as the S&D’s negotiator on the policies and legalities of the EU.

Later that same year, he was appointed as the S&D negotiator on the situation of fundamental rights across the European Union. During the first nine months of his mandate, he negotiated and compiled no less than six reports on various issues and aspects. No mean achievement at all!

Engerer made a name for himself within the European Parliament when it came to discussions regarding fundamental rights in the European Union. He was the European Parliament’s leading rapporteur on a historic resolution that gravely condemned the actions of the Hungarian government against its own LGBTIQ citizens. He successfully called for the European Commission to freeze funding to Hungary until the Orbán government rectifies the situation.

He was also the S&D’s negotiator on a resolution condemning LGBT-free zones in Poland and Hungary, which declared the European Union an “LGBTIQ Freedom zone”. Engerer’s work on European values, fundamental rights, the protection of journalists and the rule of law was notable in such a short period.

Towards greater positive impacts

Apart from all these remarkable individual achievements, one cannot forget the collective effort put in by all of our Labour MEPs that led the S&D Group in the European Parliament to issue a statement whereby they pledged their support for the constructive and open approach taken by the Maltese government on reforms aimed at strengthening the rule of law.

For the Socialists and Democrats, this Labour Maltese government has taken the right approach: it is open to reform, it is a constructive partner that listens to institutions like the European Parliament and it is delivering the change people need to see. This attitude stands in stark contrast with the EPP and conservative governments in Poland, Hungary, and Greece, as well as Slovenia’s previous government, which preferred to ignore calls for constructive dialogue with the European institutions and repeatedly refused invitations to work with them.

All that came about at the same time that one PN MEP was relentlessly endeavouring to denigrate Malta’s image and reputation and working against our country’s national and vital interests.

In light of all these achievements, I am sure that our Labour MEPs elected last June will continue where the previous MEPs left off, make even deeper inroads, and leave greater positive impacts within the EU parliament and other European institutions.

Main illustration: DOMINIC BUGATTO for The Wall Street Journal