Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The use of the English language
as lingua franca
However, the nature of such division differs
markedly between the two, spatially, structurally
and culturally.
Three years after independence, Malta
indicated that it wished to establish formal
contractual relations with the EEC. Subsequent
negotiations led to the signing of the EC-Malta
Association Agreement which came into force in
April 1971, and covered trade-related issues,
legal approximation and other areas of coopera-
tion, including industry, environment, transport
and customs (EC, 2000). It formalized close
links between the Community and Malta, with a
gradual removal of trade barriers to allow
unhindered access to each other's markets by
the end of the 20th century. This resulted in the
EU accounting for more than half of Malta's
exports and over two-thirds of total imports by
the late 1990s (EC, 1999a).
Malta's essentially two-party post-
independence political system has generated
fierce political debate within the islands, and on
certain issues - not least EU membership - this
has proved to be severely divisive. Although a
small and relatively ethnically homogenous
state, Malta has been viewed as having one of
the purest two-party political systems in the
developed world (Cini, 2002). Intense political
rivalry, and its polarization of Maltese society,
have been complemented by a culture of
patronage, exacerbated by the fact that elec-
tions have often been won by small margins
of votes, often leading to inaction due to an
inability to pass and enforce laws. As a result,
government policies 'may end up as a tattered
patchwork of conflicting client demands'
(Mallia, 1994, p. 700). Within this context, poli-
tical polarization has also been viewed in terms
of 'traditionalists' and 'modernizers' (Mitchell,
2002).
This division complicated Malta's path to
EU accession, rendering an ambivalence to the
concept of the country's 'Europeanization' (e.g.
Cini, 2000). Baldacchino (2002) contended
that this was partly the result of Malta's status as
a 'nation-less state', characterized by post-
colonial, small island nationalism, but with a
history of attempted integration with France,
Italy, Britain and Libya. Yet the country's small
size has also allowed the Maltese to win conces-
sions from the EU (e.g. Pace, 2002). This is
exemplified later in the chapter.
The contemporary common use of English on
both islands is of course a heritage of their
colonial past. The Maltese language is Arabic-
derived, while employing the Roman script -
the only Semitic language to do so. Greek or
Turkish, of course, represents the first language
for most Cypriots, with English often employed
as a mediating vehicle for communication.
A mass 3Ss tourism industry based to
a large extent on the demands of the
UK market
As English-speaking with a colonial heritage
coupled to a warm and sunny Mediterranean
climate, tourism development aimed at the UK
market was an obvious economic option for
both countries which gained independence just
as the inclusive holiday industry was taking off.
In both islands the tourism industry's evolution
has also resulted in patterns of uneven regional
development, albeit not untypical for the
Mediterranean (Hadjimichalis, 1987; Dunford,
1997).
That both Malta and Cyprus have sought
subsequently to diversify away from mass-market
dependence - a lingering colonial heritage
whose erosion EU membership could either
encourage or constrain - is emphasized in the
following two chapters (17 and 18). What this
overview chapter wishes to suggest is that there
are comparable underlying structural issues
influencing the effectiveness and implications of
such policies. In Malta, for example, in the process
of trying to change that mass image, as discussed
in Chapter 17, a number of environmental
conflicts have arisen (e.g. Markwick, 2000, 2001;
Bramwell, 2003).
Political Division and the
Accession Process
Political division has characterized the
recent history of Malta and Cyprus and has
notably interacted with processes of accession.
