CHOGM returns to Malta : EU and Commonwealth membership in the Mediterranean

Abstract

The venue and timing of each Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) is bound to shape its character. CHOGM 2015 in Malta presents many unique opportunities for the Commonwealth. The obvious one is to elect a new Secre- tary-General to lead the organisation for the next four years. Another is for a CHOGM to take place (again) within the European Union (EU). (The Commonwealth heads of government met in Limassol, Cyprus, in 1993, but that country was not an EU member state at that time; and in Edinburgh in 1997.) The previous CHOGM within an EU member state was also in Malta, back in November 2005, with the island state having acceded to EU membership barely 18 months before. Much has changed in Malta since hosting the previous CHOGM in 2005. The coun- try has clearly usurped its former status as a post-colonial developing state and estab- lished itself as a thriving cosmopolitan jurisdiction. Having weathered the 2008 financial crisis fairly well, the country has been a refuge, and a new home, for various expatriates, including many from both EU and non-EU countries. The instability in North Africa, and particularly in Libya, 300 km away, is, however, of particular con- cern. A growing and more affluent population has generated worryingly high levels of private consumption (e.g. of private motor vehicles); but there are some notable initia- tives in alternative energy use (photovoltaic solar panels in particular).