Define Yourself

                  Tony Award winning Actor and playwright, Harvey Fierstein, encouraged people to, “never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one’s definition of your life, but define yourself.” Now this may sound like the sort of words one may share with a younger sibling on the first day of middle school, but the sentiment has a strong message. How many times have you lost your voice? Not spoken up due to fear that others may judge you, or even worse disregard your statement entirely? This has a huge effect on one’s identity in the worse way possible. It is the self admitting that their very identity doesn’t matter resulting in an irrelevant existence.

            Those working in the Parliament are familiar with the tension that lingered in the air during the final negotiations on the budget. As Yasmin mentions in her third blog post regarding the difficulty of passing the budget, it took two years to accomplish. She makes an important point of highlighting that the budget is one that shapes EU policy for the six years that it is in place. Hence, why it would spark much debate among the institutions and the member states.

            The budget or in more formal terms,the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), last for six year cycles. When it comes to determining the MFF, there are three negotiating parties. These parties are the European Commission, the Council, and the European Parliament. The three parties are responsible for analyzing expenditures as well as program funding.

            When it comes to the negotiating, there are two tracks: political and legislative. What these tracks are referring to is the frame of mind that the separate institutions take when determining what is the most effective MFF. Like most difficulties within the European Union, the same issue plagues it: conflicting opinions of the member states. Members from these respective institutions want a budget that is going to favorable for their member state, but when there are twenty-eight member states all doing the same thing it means complications arise.

            Like most deals, there is always a loser. This is a blunt way of saying a compromise between a lot of parties results in some getting the short end of the stick. Obviously, this all boils down to which member states have the most influence. Member states that are seen as leaders of the European Union get a far better end of the MFF deal than those that do not. For example a country such as Malta, the country my supervisor is the press advisor for, is often overlooked. It is one of the smallest nations in the world and lies in the midst of the Mediterranean Sea. The population is close to 500,000 and the official languages are Maltese and English.

            The controversy between Malta and the European Union over the MFF came down to the proposal of member states. The budget that Malta had proposed for itself was one that the negotiating members of the MFF did not agree upon. Malta had a more optimistic approach to its financial forecast and felt that the budget proposed was appropriate. On the other hand, the European Union was not so positive of Malta having the budget it asked for and felt they would not be able to maintain it or even make the changes it said it would.

            To illustrate the underlying dynamic of what the budget rejection truly means, I will share an anecdote from my office. Before coming to Europe, I didn’t think that there was a divide between what is Northern and Southern Europe. Europeans from the North consider themselves to more advanced, more intelligent, and overall just more sophisticated than their Southern counterparts. Dreikus, intern from The Netherlands/the North, and Pauline, intern from Malta/the South, found themselves in the middle of dispute. It was an argument over an incident that happened during Strasbourg week. Ultimately, the one phrase I will not forget is Dreikus telling Pauline that, “I’m not surprised you’d act this way. Girls from the South are always loud, always rude.” The look on Pauline’s face as well as the comment caught the table off guard. Though this has never been blatantly stated, it was an atmosphere that surrounded the European Union. The South was irresponsible and greatly debt. It was the job of the North to save them and pull them out of the financial crisis they had created.

            Back to the story of the budget, it all could have just simply ended with Malta accepting the verdict the European Union recommended to them. It would have made it all easier, and this blog post would have been pointless. Such was not the case. Despite Malta being such a small country and only having two MEPs, this did not stop their leaders from fighting for the budget they felt was deserved. The budget has a true impact on Malta, and it is important for Malta to take an active role in the budget they receive.

            Malta did something extremely important. They fought for the identity they want to hold within the European Union. They did not let themselves be silenced because of their size or the lack of overall influence they may have. Though Europe is striving to have a pan-European identity, it is hard to create that when people are so embedded in the stereotypes they have of another country within the same Union.