MEP Alex Agius Saliba nominated for the ‘Youth Champion of the Mandate’ Award

Labour MEP, Alex Agius Saliba, has been nominated for the ‘Youth Champion of the Mandate’ award by the prestigious Parliament Magazine for the work that he carried out during the last five years, the Labour Party has said.

Alex Agius Saliba was the only Maltese MEP nominated for this year’s awards and is the only Maltese MEP nominated in all four editions of the awards throughout this legislature, it added. He was previously nominated for the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (2020), Health and Wellbeing Award (2022) and Digital Strategy and the Single Market Award (2023). At the young age of 36 years, the Labour MEP was elected as Vice President of the Socialists and Democrats group and played an instrumental role in the adoption of key legislation during his first tenure in the European Parliament, the PL said.

He is most known for his campaign for the adoption of a common charger for digital devices, despite opposition from key market players, especially Apple.

In recent weeks Agius Saliba’s work in another campaign for better rights and protection for workers, known as the “Right to Disconnect”, bore fruition as the European Commission recognized the Labour MEP’s work and embarked on the implementation of the proposal into a directive, it said. This directive will ensure that workers may refuse to answer work related messages in their free time without fear of discrimination or negative consequences.

Locally, MEP Agius Saliba is known for his fight for the rights of vulnerable individuals and Maltese traditions. In the Labour MEP’s words : “Last October I requested the European Commission to investigate whether companies in the food retail sector which enjoy de-facto monopolies are abusing their position by increasing prices beyond the rate of inflation. Various circles, especially within criticised and attempted to ridicule my initiative. A few months later several importers acknowledged the need for action and agreed to join an initiative by the Labour Government to decrease prices by 15% and freeze them for the next nine months.”

MEP Agius Saliba noted with appreciation his nomination for the award. “The nomination by the Parliament Magazine recognizes the work done during the last five years. I look forward so that together we continue building on these achievements in the best interests of Maltese consumers, the vulnerable and the working class.”