Twenty years ago, on 1 May 2004, Malta joined the European Union as a member state, effectively ending more than two decades of confrontation which saw the Nationalist Party pushing for accession while the Labour Party preferred a partnership option.
Lawrence Gonzi and Alfred Sant were respectively Prime Minister and Opposition Leader at the time Malta officially became an EU member state.
Their views on the past 20 years, and what the future can hold, are as different as they were at the time Malta was going through the delicate pre-EU membership stage, which culminated in a referendum that saw the majority vote for membership, a decision that was confirmed in an election held just one month later.
In separate comments they gave to The Malta Independent on Sunday, Gonzi and Sant reflect on the good and bad of these 20 years of membership and what to expect in the coming years.
Sant says the EU is getting transformed into a defence union, with a significant component of militarisation as part of the package. For his part, Gonzi says the evident weakening of the rules-based international order continue to emphasise the urgent need for the EU to increase its assertiveness in the global arena.
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