Investimenti

Fl-aħħar ġimgħat, kont involut f’ħidma biex inlestu rapport għall-plenarja tal-Parlament Ewropew fi Strasburgu dwar ir-rakkomandazzjonijiet li tagħmel il-Kummissjoni lill-pajjiżi membri tal-Unjoni Ewropea dwar it-tmexxija tal-ekonomiji tagħhom. Iddeċidejt li jkun jaqbel li nikkonċentraw fuq l-investimenti, minflok noqogħdu nqisu l-fatturi ekonomiċi kollha.
Kien eżerċizzju siewi. Tgħallimt aħjar kif l-għatx għall-investiment fl-Ewropa forsi hu l-qofol tal-isfida ekonomika quddiem dal-kontinent. In-nixfa fl-investimenti taħti bil-kbir għall-istaġnar fl-ekonomiji tal-aħħar snin.
Kif se negħlbuha?
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AIR MALTA
Ma setax jonqos li n-negozjati dwar soluzzjoni “finali” għad-diffikultajiet tal-Air Malta se jitwalu. Iżżejjed forsi? Ikun dwejjaq jekk ikollhom jinqatgħu fiż-żmien li Malta se jkollha l-Presidenza tal-Unjoni Ewropea, anke jekk uħud jaħsbu li dan jista’ jgħin biex inġibu ftehim aħjar mal-istanzi Ewropej dwar l-arranġament aħħari.
Wieħed jifhimha li d-dewmien ikompli jtertaq lill-impjegati tal-kumpanija bl-ansjetà. Min-naħa l-oħra, il-gvern qed jagħmel tajjeb li jieħu kemm hemm bżonn żmien (sakemm tħallieh il-Kummissjoni Ewropea) biex jiżgura li dak li jiġi deċiż ikun l-aħjar fiċ-ċirkostanzi. Il-problema żgur hi li minn kull fejn tmiss, se joħroġ id-demm.
L-isfida (jekk dik għadha kelma tajba) tal-Air Malta hi li qed iġġorr il-piżijiet ta’ governenza ħażina fi snin imbegħda, u warajhom ta’ governanza mxekkla, meta dak li messu sar, ma sarx.
Illum l-Air Malta tinsab maqbuda fil-manglu ta’ deċiżjonijiet iebsa li l-ebda waħda minnhom ma tista’ tassigura mija (jew sittin?) fil-mija s-salvazzjoni tal-kumpanija.
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SCHULZ
X’se jagħmel il-President tal-Parlament Ewropew Martin Schulz?
Fl-aħħar tas-sena jagħlaq il-mandat tiegħu u skont l-arranġamenti li jintqal li saru, l-kariga trid tgħaddi għand xi ħadd ieħor, x’aktarx membru tal-grupp politiku tal-Popolari. Is-soċjalisti u oħrajn mhumiex jaqblu; Schulz għandu jkompli fil-kariga tiegħu tal-lum, qed jgħidu, anki biex ikun hemm bilanċ politiku fil-karigi, la l-Presidenti tal-Kummissjoni u tal-Kunsill Ewropej huma mil-lemin. Imma, igħidu oħrajn, qed tinsew li l-Viċi President tal-Kummissjoni inkarigata mill-affarijiet barranin, u l-President tal-ministri li jieħdu ħsieb it-tmexxija taż-żona ewro, l-Eurogroup, huma mix-xellug.
Lil hinn mill-argumenti dwar bilanċ politiku, jista’ jkun li hemm wisq deputati tal-lemin li ma jaħmlux lil Schulz u jriduh jitlaq.
Qed tissemma triq oħra għalih: dik li jintgħażel bħala l-kandidat tas-soċjalisti Ġermaniżi għal kanċellier fl-elezzjonijiet federali tas-sena d-dieħla. Numru ta’ mexxejja fl-SPD huma kontra li l-President attwali tal-partit tagħhom Sigmar Gabriel ikun dal-kandidat. Allura minfloku, bdew isemmu lil Schulz.
Jekk iż-żewġ alternattivi ma jaslu mkien, x’se jagħmel Schulz? Taħseb x’taħseb dwaru, mhux ta’ min jitlef is-sens ta’ inizjattiva tiegħu.

English Version – Investments

In recent weeks, I was involved in an exercise to prepare a report for the European Parliament’s plenary in Strasbourg, discussing the Commission’s recommendations to member states about the management of their economy. I thought it would make good sense to concentrate on the investment scene rather than discuss broadly all relevant economic factors,

The approach turned out to be worthwhile. I got to know better how the investment dearth that exists as of now in Europe is perhaps the deep economic question that the continent must face up to. Investment dearth is hugely a root cause for the relative economic stagnation of past years.

How shall it be overcome?

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Air Malta

It was inevitable that negotiations towards a “final” solution of Air Malta’s difficulties would take time. Too much perhaps? It could be awkward if they had to be concluded in the period when Malta is at the Presidency of the EU, though there are people who believe this would help to get quicker approval from European watchdogs for conclusive arrangements.

Understandably, delays will continue to feed the anxiety of the company’s employees. On the other hand, the government is doing well to take as much time as is necessary (subject to the leeway allowed by the European Commission) in order to achieve the best possible outcome in existing circumstances. One problem definitely is that all available options will be most painful.

Air Malta’s challenge (if that is still the right word to use) is that it carries the burden of bad governance dating from long ago, following which the burden of weak governance, during which what needed to be done was not.

Today, Air Malta is caught in the press of hard decisions that need to be taken, in the knowledge that none of them can provide a hundred (or is it even sixty?) per cent guarantee about the company’s survival.

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Schulz

What is going to be the future of Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament?

By end year, his mandate will come to an end and according to the arrangements which it is said, have been made, his post will be taken up by someone else, probably a member of the European Popular Party. Socialists and others disagree. They claim that Schulz should stay on as EP president, not least to maintain a political balance in top European posts. However, according to others, this view overlooks the fact that the EC vice president responsible for foreign affairs as well as the president of the ministerial group in charge of eurozone management, the eurogroup, come from the left.

Beyond the arguments related to political balance within the institutions, it is probable that there are too many MEPs who dislike Schulz and would like to seek him go.

Another way out is being mentioned for him. He could be chosen as the candidate for chancellor of the socialist party (SPD) in next year’s German federal elections. A number of SPD leading lights disagree that the current President of their party Sigmar Gabriel should be the candidate. So instead, Schulz’s name has been mooted.

If both options turn out to be deadends, what is Schulz going to do? Whatever your opinion of him is, if he is no longer around, his ability and initiative would be sorely missed.