Four years ago I had no idea where my career would take me next. Then came an opportunity to head the EU Representation Office in Malta and I applied. For those who imagine appointments within the EU institutions are a walk in the park let me tell you this. I would not wish some of the arduous tests I had to go through on my worst enemies. Getting an EU appointment is not for sissies. 

In the event these have been an unrivalled, enriching four years. It was an honour to be of service and I take away with me a wealth of breathtaking experiences - some good, some disappointing but all inspiring. There were times when my cup runneth over - others when I felt alone and unjustifiably criticized for having committed no greater crime than explaining objectively the EU’s policies.
By the time you read this I shall be settling …

As I look back on the last four years I find it difficult to identify those whose value I came to treasure more. Politicians, administrators, legislators? All of course I have seen contribute towards the stable, serene society of which we form part as an EU member state. All have helped - to the best of their ability - provide citizens with relative equality.

But beyond what is written in our statue books there is something else that is more striking - the will of the people: the will to be a good member of the vast EU society, to be a good neighbour, a good provider, a contributor to the norms EU society accepts as decent, valid and at times necessary.
Beyond that, then, there is goodness - the goodness of those sensitive to the needs of others; the goodness to come to people’s aid, to make a difference, to encourage …

I was surprised, to say the least, to learn from a journalist that Herman Van Rompuy, the recently elected President of the European Council, was coming to Malta. By the time you read this he would have come and gone.

President Rompuy is on a tour of all EU member states. He wants to form a first-hand idea of the diversity we all bring to the EU. I’m sure he will be well briefed on Malta and the issues the Maltese have with the EU - particularly immigration. He can do no worse than going over the recent Eurobarometer finding. Very probably President Van Rompuy will wonder what the Maltese really think about the EU. For example they admit to being beneficiaries but at the same time the majority don’t believe joining the EU was such a good idea. Then again when asked who they would rather trust with several aspects …

In wishing you all a happy New Year I cannot but mention the results from the latest Eurobarometer poll which deal with many of our concerns for the future. Glad news economists tell us the recession is beginning to lift. Germany seems to have made it out of the impasse already- but governments and people are still strapped for cash, industry is still shedding jobs and whilst banks are still rolling in it people have not yet fully restored their faith in the future.
This is particularly true of the Maltese who according to the Autumn 2009 Eurobarometer seem to fear inflation, illegal immigration, the economic situation and energy costs worst for the year to come.
For inflation read rising prices. We have all been here before. When we joined the Eurozone some tried blaming the Euro. That’s died down now but there are those- particularly in industry- who blame state- induced …

What tragedies. How sad and unnecessary.
Days into the New Year and a nineteen year old is killed at the wheels of a car wrapped round a tree. The life of a thirty year old is scythed down prematurely in yet another traffic fatality. My heart sweats as I think of what their families must be going through. Last year 21 people lost their lives on the road- most of them barely out of their teens. In the main most of these accidents could have been avoided. If there is one thing that saddens me as I drive round the island it is the many candle- lit niches on kerbs dedicated to people prematurely killed on the road.
I have no magic solution but I believe more can be done to avoid these heart wrenching deaths. Clearly we need our roads to be of better quality and also better patrolled - some …