A voice for island communities | Josianne Cutajar

From the beginning of my mandate in the European Parliament, I have been ambitious, consistent, and dependable, in my mission to ensure the needs of island communities, like those of Malta and Gozo, are made loud and clear on the EU negotiating table.

This European Parliament’s legislature was marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, new wars in Ukraine and now in the Middle East and related impacts on inflation and the energy market. In spite of these challenges, not only was work on the ambitious set of proposals to kick-start the Green and Digital twin transition never forgotten, but the importance of fostering a resilient EU only became more urgent for EU policymakers.

As a member of the Socialist and Democrats Group, I actively worked towards achieving the twin transition; the vision of Europe as the first climate neutral continent as stipulated in the European Green Deal, and the power of digitalisation as a catalyst for economic competitiveness and social inclusion. Furthermore, I have remained steadfast in my belief in a just transition that leaves no one behind, irrespective of the socio-economic background and the region one is coming from. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

Through my work in the Committee for Regional Affairs, and as Vice Chair of the Parliamentary Intergroup for Seas, Rivers, Islands and Coastal Areas (SEArica), I defended the interests of island regions. To this end I also was the Socialists’ negotiator in the European Parliament’s Islands and Cohesion Policy Report, which recognises insularity as a permanent and structural challenge. Be it due to geographic barriers and additional costs due to lack of seamless connectivity or the fact that islands are on the frontline of the climate crisis, the report that I helped draw up actively pressures the European Commission to table a holistic Islands Pact and to make island mainstreaming a reality.

I recently participated in the General Assemblies of two leading stakeholder organisations: CPMR, an umbrella organisation bringing together Europe’s Peripheral Maritime Regions, and INSULEUR, which represents the various Chambers of Commerce from insular regions in the EU.

It is during events like these that a lot of important work is done towards building an EU that better supports island regions. Among the key priorities there are the upgrading of islands’ critical infrastructure to face ever-worsening climate effects, ensuring that island SMEs are supported to effectively compete in a Single Market defined by the twin transitions’ new realities and in seeing that the next iteration of the Cohesion Policy does not only allocate funds based on indicators like GDP-per-capita, but also takes into account other metrics such as a region’s insularity.

I am committed to regional equity, which is why I helped secure a key derogation from the Fuel EU Maritime Regulation that gives passenger ships berthing in ports like that of Mgarr, Gozo, more flexibility in implementing targets on the use of sustainable fuel. This is a tangible recognition of the essential nature ferry travel plays for small islands.

Equitable, physical, economic, and digital connectivity between islands like Malta and Gozo to the Union mainland are not a luxury but a necessity; freedom of movement is our fundamental right as EU citizens. When I started off in Brussels’ vast political labyrinth I committed myself to be a strong and reliable voice for the interests of island communities like our own. I reiterate that comment once more.