Alfred Sant

#PART1 Could we please establish a moratorium on further road construction works? There has been too much of this over past years, and people would like to have a break. True, this is the area where EU funds available to Malta have been most accessible....

#PART2 But hopefully this should be changing with the RRF criteria that the EU is now employing, to push “green” and digitalisation projects. Rightly, this is the option that the government has followed in its portfolio of projects under the RRF...

#PART3 Let us in the next few years, concentrate within the limitations of the Malta government budget, on the upgrading of secondary roads and urban pavements. Let’s forget about getting EU funding on new big big roads projects. #End

#PART2 The European Council on immigration and “security and defence” policy. The European Central Bank on interest rates, inflation and economic recovery. #End

#PART1 Unless care is taken, the credibility of EU institutions could become an issue in the short run. The European Commission and the European Parliament on rule of law matters. The European Commission on a “green” taxonomy related to nuclear energy and natural gas projects...

#PART1 In the ongoing tangle between Russia, the US and the rest of Europe over the Ukraine, it is difficult to understand what game is being played. The diplomatic argument that the Russians seem to be pushing all the time is that the “West” cannot be trusted...

#PART2 When it promises something it fails to deliver, even when the deep security concerns of its interlocutors is concerned. Can this be true? Some people, even on the “Western side”, find it difficult to disagree. So, is Russia taking advantage of this perceived or real...

#PART3 untruthfulness of the West to attempt a partial or total takeover of the Ukraine? As a war aim it would be extremely risky and not justified. It  would be of long term peril to both Russia and the “West”. #End

#PART2 technology developed and done within the Union. But this should not be taken to the extremes of making the use and development of cybersecurity techniques an out-and-out “fortress” issue. The EU needs to be able to tap where and as necessary the state of the art systems..

#PART1 It is a good approach for the EU to bolster its cyber defences across the board as the threats of aggressive disruptions multiply & become more effective, coming from within & from outside the Union. It is also desirable to have as much as possible of the cyber defence..

#PART1 According to the pollsters, “les jeux sont faits” as far as the overall results of the coming elections are concerned. Giving overall victory to Labour, with a wide margin. I hope & wish this will turn to be correct, although it never is wise to take anything for granted..

#PART2 However, if the pollsters are correct, the elections will still be crucial in terms of the competition between candidates, where huge uncertainties will prevail about who will get elected in the different districts...

#PART3 One hopes that the newly elected MPs on both sides will be more attentive to their own reputation and that of the Parliament than we have seen happen these past years. #End

#PART1 The Ukraine crisis appears to have brought China & Russia together in a face-to-face with the US. Short term considerations make this alignment inevitable, even natural. KIn the long run though, it is questionable whether the two sides have complementary interests...

#PART2 Even when both were under Communist rule and run along basically neo-Stalinist lines, they eventually drifted into a confrontational scenario. #End

#PART1 Permanent Secretary for Social Justice and Solidarity Mark Musu gave an impressive demonstration recently of the progress we have achieved in the provision of social services. He was right to stress that compared to European levels, we have been doing well..

#PART2 If taken seriously, they claim they’re being persecuted, unless they get the applause they believe they deserve. If they’re ignored, they organize their own applause. #End

#PART1 Middleclass poseurs are all around us. Many are arrogant attention seekers. They market tautologies and platitudes, striving to  make them sound profound. If criticised, they are hurt and claim they’re being victimised..

#PART1 Is the European Parliament plenary that is due to congregate next week in Strasbourg a Covid risk for Europe as a whole? Over 1,000 people between MEPs and staff coming from all the corners of Europe, shall be gathering in one building for 3 days at a stretch...

#PART2 Anything they bring with them, will go round. Anything they take away with them will also go round and round, not just in one building but the rest of Europe. #End