Small irms, big irms - Alfred Sant

It is true that as is often said, in its economic and financial policies the EU attaches much importance to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). It can hardly do otherwise since they account for a substantial part of the European economy.

Numerous programmes of financial support exist in the Union, targeted to service the needs of SMEs.

When proposals are being considered for some new European regulation, a lot of emphasis is also placed on proportionality – meaning that the measures being contemplated in the new law should be applied differently, according to whether an enteprise is big or small. In the second instance, it can even be exempted from provisons that apply only to the big firms.

However, in a way, this raises questions about the perspective that prevails when European laws are being drafted. It seems as if the “legislator” starts off with the assumption that measures should first of all be made to apply for big enterprises, and only then get adapted to fit the situation that small firms face. In and of itself, this method places SMEs in a secondary role.

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Commemoration

It has become a habit not to hold official commemorations of national public holidays on the day itself but on some prior date. So long as this happens on the eve, perhaps one wouldn’t mind. Or when the public holiday coincides with some other festa, as when Freedom Day and Easter happen to cross paths.

However another reason for the displacement of official ceremonies seems to be to free up weekends. This month for example, the commemoration of the 7th June was carried out three days before its due date, which occurred on a Monday.

I doubt whether such an approach makes sense. A national holiday usually commemorates a leading event in the country’s history. It is an element of our identity. Making its official commemoration subject to momentary convenience (even if the ceremony itself could be experienced as a boring occasion) amounts, all things considered, to a symbolic devaluation of the day’s significance.

Biden in Europe

European leaders are hoping that the visit to Europe of President Joe Biden this week will trigger a reactivation of the ways by which US – EU relations used to be managed in the pre-Trump era. Regular consultations used to happen across a varied range of topics by means of which both sides would seek to achieve aims that if not necessarily similar, would be convergent.

From what he has said and done up to now, it appears that Biden shares the same hope. Even before his visit, he showed a willingess to take concrete steps that meant relations would be moving along the direction that the Europeans prefer.

This would surely be better than the confusion and imbroglios that with Trump, had become a component of the Euro-American scenario.

Yet the Europeans need to clarify, even among themselves, the basis on which in future, they will be defining their ties with the US. For in this future, the overriding factor will be the ever-growing competition on a global scale, between the US and China, in which the latter has the best longterm chances to end up “on top”.

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Verbal violence

In the national conference organised last week by President George Vella, the impact of social media on the everyday life of our people often came under discussion. As one would expect, a focus was on the verbal violence generated by these media. Still, its relationship to politics could have been overstated. For “discussions” and controversies in other sectors of social life frequently generate the same anger and name calling as when politics are at issue.

Many times, the hard talk brimming with contempt does not concentrate on the arguments that have been presented. Soon these get deviated into insults and personal attacks that have little to do with the issues that gave rise to ongoing disputes.

This does not happen only in Malta. It is a phenomenon that has spread across other countries, from Italy to the US.

The reason could be that while social media are a social communications tool of incredible power, they also serve to power people’s internal frustrations, freeing the latter from all prudent controls. At least the distance which in many instances separates those at the originating and receiving ends of a slanging match in insults, rules out recourse to physical violence.

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Regarding abortion

The abortion debate has been rolling since just before the last elections to the European Parliament. Up to not so long ago, just one voice prevailed – that of the antis: so that all speakers sounded like an echo of the preceding one. In short time though, the pros have organised themselves quite well. Their message has acquired a powerful delivery.

The two sides strive to picture each other from the worst possible perspective. It is difficult to envisage they will ever grant each other the benefit of the doubt. For both sides, the choice is between light and darkness.

I think that a majority of the population still remains against abortion but the minority which is in favour is rising steadily. Yet, there are also quite a number of people who do not view the issue purely in terms of white and black. They will eventually decide whether in the future, the balance of opinion will stay the way it is now.

UK blues

The sorrow felt by tourism operators as Malta’s green status failed to get the UK government’s recognition is understandable. There are indications that decisions being taken by the British government in this area do not necessarily reflect public health as much as political considerations (not just towards Malta but towards the rest of Europe).

Local tourism firms have seen the horizon at which their receipts could start to rise from the current hopelessly low levels drift further into the distance. One can only sympathise with them.

Meanwhile, one suspects though that the British decision could be a blessing in disguise. For all things considered, the public health situation in the UK is much less than stable or secure. Having to wait for some more weeks till tourists can begin to arrive from there might rule out the arrival of a new wave of viral infections made out of noxious variants.