MBR ISSUE 44

Malta Business Review
INTERVIEW OF THE MONTH
DRIVING CHANGE
By Martin Vella
Marlene Mizzi
Exclusive Interview with Marlene Mizzi, MEP, with the group
of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the
European Parliament and first Maltese woman to be elected
to the European Parliament
ST: You will not contest again
the European Parliament
elections, scheduled for
next year. What can you tell
us about life as an MEP?
MM: I am basically a technocrat not a
politician! After entering the realm of politics
ten years ago, five of which spent as an MEP,
I feel it’s time to hang up my political boots!
However, hand on heart I can say that I gave
my elected post my all. I am satisfied that
during my term of office I was entrusted with
very important reports on issues which made
real difference to the citizens – like the report
on roaming charges, European standards,
the single digital gateway, Brexit and many
others. I have won awards, including the
MEP of the Year Award for my work in IMCO.
I represented the European Parliament
in numerous missions and conferences ,
including in the role of head of delegation.
In the end my greatest satisfaction is that I
did not let down the thousands of people
who entrusted me with their vote and their
voice in the European Parliament. I believe
I have served my country well. But, I am
neither attached of the seat of power, nor to
the handsome MEP financial package and so
I decided to move on to other adventures –
and to leave when at the peak of my political
career. However, I am still an MEP until June
2019 and I intend to continue working to the
very last day of my term.
It has been a big change in lifestyle for me
since I became an MEP for the first time in
2013. Life as a Member of the European
Parliament is what one makes of it. For me
of it was a complete change of lifestyle living
and working in different countries. But it is a
wonderful adventure... It involves travelling to
and from Brussels and Strasbourg, and other
countries on various missions. A typical week
starts by getting there on Monday, plan the
week ahead, go through reports, agendas and
answering emails. My days in Brussels and
Strasbourg are hectic - report presentations,
plenaries, shadow and committee meetings.
When I’m in Malta I engage in meetings with
individual constituents, local organizations,
national politicians, businesses organizations,
trade unions, local councils and so on. While
many would assume that travelling so much
may be glamorous, it quickly becomes
stressful. Even so, I still love what I do and I
knew what I was getting myself into... so I am
only explaining, not complaining!
MBR: How do you account
for your ten year success to
date, and what are the
main highlights of these ten
years?
MM: These ten years have been a busy, hectic
but exciting adventure for me. I entered into
politics because I wanted to be part of the
change the country desperately needed at
the time. So I accepted Dr Muscat’s invitation
to join the PL team to contest the 2009 MEP
elections – when I was not elected for a
whisker! The biggest highlight during these
years is, therefore, being elected as an MEP
replacing Prof. Edward Scicluna in the 2013
by-elections. I am proud to be part of Malta’s
political history as Malta's first woman to be
elected to the European Parliament.
As an MEP I am member of various
committees – Internal Market and Consumer
protection (IMCO), Vice President of the
Petitions Committee(PETI ) , and substitute
member in the Committee of culture,
education and sport (CULT). I am also a
member of various Parliamentary Intergroups
including Animal Welfare, LGTBQ, Children’s
Rights and others.
One of the main highlights was my role within
IMCO where I was part of the negotiating
team which was instrumental in the signing of
the legislation that abolished roaming charges
across Europe. This was a historic step for
EU citizens since it meant that anyone with
a mobile phone line based in any of the 28
European Member States can travel between
EU countries and not pay extra for roaming.
This year we also managed to reach an
agreement with the EU Council for a new legal
framework for electronic communications,
where I was the S&D negotiator of the IMCO
on the new EU telecoms rules. One of the
main proposals will reduce the price of phone
calls made from one EU member state to
another one. It is on occasions like these
that I realise how our work as MEPs has a
real impact on improving the daily lives of all
Europeans.
On a personal level, it was an honour for me
to win the prestigious MEP of the Year Award
for my role as key negotiator on several
Digital Singel Market dossiers, including on
the European Standards of the 21 st Century
report.
This was the second time that I was nominated
for the MEP of the Year Award, after that in
2017 I was one of the finalists for my work on
animal welfare issues.In the same year I was
also named Eurogroup for Animals’ Person of
the Year for standing strong for the protection
and promotion of animal health and habitat
across Europe.
More than anything I hope that my
achievements and work will be of benefit
and make a difference to the citizens in their
everyday life.
"The Single Digital
Gateway offers more
user- friendly services
and millions of
Europeans citizens will
benefit from it.
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