A personal view of Parliament's Info Offices: Julian Vassallo in Malta

In the first of a short series about Parliament's Information Offices around Europe, we turn our attention to the EU's smallest state, Malta, and talk to Julian Vassallo, head of the Parliament's office there. A former Maltese diplomat who worked under the EU's Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana, he describes the highly-politicised atmosphere in the country by saying that “the Maltese can have politics for breakfast, lunch and supper”.

What does your daily work entail?
 
In spite of a constant dose of British media euro-scepticism the Maltese are becoming keener on membership and remain hungry for more information on the EU and the EP (not least on EU funds). So we are kept busy coming up with innovative ways to reach every sector of society.
 
We paved the main street of Valletta with carpets depicting the Euro coins when we joined the single currency and stuck fifty giant photos of Maltese of different ethnic backgrounds to the City's Main Gate to celebrate the European Year for Intercultural Dialogue.
 
What is the atmosphere in the EP office in Valletta/Malta?
 
We are a small team of four flexible, energetic people who take pride in their work and who are always ready to help each other to get things done. As if that weren't motivating enough we have just moved to Europe House - a beautifully restored 16th century building that used to house the Italian contingent of Knights of Malta.
 
What do you like or dislike in the job?

My only disappointment is the manner in which the challenge of irregular migration and the common perception that EU is not helping Malta tackle it has become the measure, in many people's minds, of the value of EU membership. Our new MEPs will be judged largely on what they achieve for Malta on this very complex issue.
 
What are you mainly involved with?
 
The last months have been an exciting time for the Office which has been all over the local media thanks to the “bring-out-the-vote” campaign for the EP Elections. One member of staff or another was on National TV or radio practically every day in the final weeks of the campaign. My favourite moment was appearing on a daytime TV show to encourage people to vote in between a recipe for artichoke risotto and a feature with a string of models showing off the latest hairstyles!
 
How is it like to work in a country that is.....highly politicised?
 
The Maltese can have politics for breakfast, lunch and supper. Although we would like to think our campaign gave an extra push it is this impressive political engagement of the Maltese that gave us the highest national voter participation in the EP Elections where voting is not obligatory (78.8%). It was less difficult to convince people that their vote really counts after the national government was elected last year with a majority of less than 1,500 votes.
 
What is your background....that helped you get this job?
 
I have a legal background and have worked as a diplomat for Malta in New York and Brussels and later in the Policy Planning Team of High Representative Javier Solana before taking up this post. Although I still work for the EU this job is so different that it feels like a career change - something that I very much enjoy every few years.