Indipendenza

Għaddew biżżejjed snin minn żmien l-Indipendenza biex maġġoranza tal-poplu tagħna m’għandhiex esperjenza personali diretta tal-ġrajja. L-istess ħaġa daqt tmiss, jekk mhux diġà ġrat, lil Jum il-Ħelsien.

Bħala tifkira, hu dubjuż kemm il-kommemorazzjonijiet tal-Indipendenza darba fis-sena huma effettivi billi jsaħħu xi għarfien tal-identità nazzjonali. Biex dan jiġri iridu jkunu inkwadrati b’sensiela ta’ atti u prattiċi publiċi, anki ta’ rutina, li jsostnu fost il-poplu sentiment nazzjonali. Pajjiżi oħra jagħmlu hekk bla ebda riżerva, mhux l-anqas permezz tas-sistema edukattiva.

Issib min mhuwiex favur li titqawwa l-ħerqa lejn in-nazzjon. L-aktar ilment komuni sar li n-nazzjonaliżmu hu forza għal dissens bejn il-ġnus. Bilfors iwassal għall-gwerra. Hemm min ukoll iqis li Malta hi ċkejkna wisq biex tkun nazzjon u aħjar inħolluha f’identità aqwa, bħal xi ħaġa Ewropea.

Ilha kemm ilha li ntrebħet, il-battalja tal-indipendenza għadha għaddejja.

FIL-KUMMISSJONI L-ĠDIDA

Kif inhuma miktuba t-trattati Ewropej, il-Kummissjoni Ewropea m’għandhiex tkun magħmula minn numru ta’ persuni akbar minn żewġ terzi tal-għadd ta’ pajjiżi membri. Kull membru għandu ċans ugwali li minn Kummissjoni għal oħra, ċittadin tiegħu jiġi nominat għal fuqha. Il-Kummissarji jintgħażlu b’mod li kull reġjun tal-Unjoni jisfa rappreżentat.

Biex ir-regola ma titħaddimx, hu meħtieġ qbil unanimu bejn il-pajiżi membri li jsir hekk.

Dan l-arranġament ftit issemma sa issa. Kienu l-elezzjonijiet għall-Parlament Ewropew li l-aktar ġibdu l-attenzjoni. Dwar il-Kummissjoni tal-lum kien intlaħaq qbil unanimu li jinżamm il-metodu qadim li kull pajjiż ikollu kummissarju “tiegħu”. Mhix ħaġa ċara li se jiġri l-istess fid-darba li jmiss.

DRITTIJIET TAL-AWTUR

Il-kontroversja kbira mhix se tintemm malajr, dwar jekk għandhomx jew le jidħlu regolamenti ġodda fuq kif id-drittijiet tal-awtur japplikaw għal x’jittella’ fl-internet. L-aħħar puntata tal-ġrajja – li seħħet fil-Parlament Ewropew – intemmet b’rebħa għal dawk li jemmnu li d-drittijiet tal-awtur għandhom jiġu nforzati. Min jaqbel ma’ dan, jemmen li l-ġganti l-kbar tal-internet… bħal Facebook u you tube… jagħmlu profitti enormi bir-riklami li jiddobbaw, waqt li jużaw b’xejn il-produzzjoni ta’ ġurnalisti, kittieba, mużiċisti u oħrajn.

Kontrihom hemm dawk li jemmnu li r-regolamenti li qed jitħasslu dwar l-internet huma xkiel fuq il-libertà tal-espressjoni. Iqisu li se jkissru x-xogħol ta’ nies li permezz tal-internet qed joħolqu mezzi ġodda ta’ espressjoni artistika u ta’ kumment soċjali.

Fil-fehma tiegħi, dwar ħafna mill-punti ta’ kritika li tqajmu, diġà hemm modi kif jistgħu jinħallu. Dwar oħrajn, kompromessi raġonevoli jistgħu jinstabu. Kollox ma’ kollox, jien ikkonkludejt li bħalissa, l-priorità kellha tkun li jitħarsu d-drittijiet ta’ min qed jipproduċi xogħol oriġinali.

English Version – Independence

Enough years have passed since Independence was achieved for the majority of our population no longer to have a direct personal experience of the event. The same is bound to soon happen – if indeed it is not already a fact – to Freedom Day.

By way of remembrance, it is doubtful whether the annual Independence Day celebrations are sufficiently effective to reinforce the recognition of a national identity. For this to happen, such celebrations need to be framed within a schedule of public acts and practices, even held on a routine basis, that build among the population a national sentiment. Other countries do this without any complexes, not least through the use of the educational system.

Yet you find individuals who are against promoting enthusiasm towards the concept of the nation. Most usually, they complain that nationalism is a force which sows distrust among peoples. Inevitably, it leads to war. There are those too who consider Malta to be too tiny to be really accepted as a nation and that therefore it would be best to let it dissolve into a greater entity, such as some wider European construct.

No matter how long ago it was that the battle for Independence was won, it still proceeds.

***

The new commission

Given what the European treaties lay down, the European Commission should not, in number, consist of more than two thirds the count of the EU’s member countries. All members have an equal chance from Commission to Commission, to nominate one of their citizens. Members of the Commission are to be chosen insuch a way that all regions of the Union are somehow represented in it.

For these rules to be waived, unanimous agreement between all member states is necessary.

The arrangement has been hardly mentioned up to now. The European Parliament elections have gotten the most attention. About the present Commission, a unanimous agreement was reached to retain the old method by which all countries would have “their” Commissioner. It is not clear that the same will happen the next time round.

***

Copyright

It is a huge controversy which will not die out soon: should new rules be set or not, to cover how copyright dues apply on internet output? The most recent episode in the saga was played out in the European Parliament and ended with the victory of those who believe that copyright entitlements should be enforced. People backing this perspective claim that the internet giants… Facebook and youtube among others… are making enormous profits from the adverts they attract, while riding for free on the output of journalists, writers, musicians and the rest.

Such views are contested by others who believe that the rules now being concocted to apply to the internet amount to a drag on the freedom of expression. They also consider that the rules will destroy the livelihood of people who through the internet, are creating novel forms of artistic expression and social commentary.

To my mind, solutions already exist to many of the points of criticism that have been raised in this sense. About others, reasonable compromises can be found. All in all, my conclusion has been that as of now, the priority should be to protect the rights of producers of original work.