Major EU event in Nadur

This weekend, the village of Nadur is hosting the Annual Meeting of the European Charter of Rural Communities and yesterday I addressed the 200 delegates, including around 20 mayors representing rural communities from among all 28 EU member states. A meeting of this dimension on the island shows that the Ministry’s vision is bearing fruit, with Gozo at the heart of the conference.

The delegates will also have the opportunity to visit various cultural and historic sites across both islands with the full support of the Gozo Ministry and the Valletta ‘18 Foundation. I must congratulate Nadur’s mayor and local council – who represent Malta in this event, for the interesting initiative and for their collaboration with the Gozo Ministry to ensure that all the planning and logistical arrangements achieve the desired success.

In my speech, I emphasised that this Charter is one of the most eloquent expressions of what the Union is all about: providing and sustaining the necessary structures for better understanding, cooperation and solidarity among people from different member states. It has been said time and time again that the highest achievement the European Union could ever attain is that of being fully functional – not only relevant – for the well-being of millions of people amount all 28 member states.

The Maltese Government has been taking a leading role towards this fundamental aim, working hard to translate all political and economic decisions taken by the highest EU institutions into tangible social benefits for all European citizens. In this scenario, the Charter of European Rural Communities is a very useful vehicle that removes more barriers for better understanding, discovering different cultures and sharing hands-on experiences that should lead to a healthy cooperation.