Ireland is in many ways the model member of the European Union these days, with an economic boom derived in part from the constructive use of Brussels funds combined with imaginative exploitation of the huge continental market on our doorstep. The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, is spreading the Euro-gospel in the Mediterranean this week: he was in Malta yesterday, travels on to Cyprus today and concludes his tour with a short stop in Morocco which, though not an integral component of the European equation, nevertheless places a high value on its relationship with the community - in particular the Mediterranean member-states.
Malta and Cyprus are both accession countries - in other words, they are negotiating terms of membership with a view to joining the EU in the next few years. Both are in a strong position to be accepted into the club but Malta, in particular, has a large sceptical element among politicians and public who worry about the implications of the giant step that is now facing them.
There are fears about neutrality, job losses, restrictions on fiscal autonomy, erosion of traditional values and identity - the menu is a familiar one from the many debates in Ireland at different times during the past 30 years. The Taoiseach's message to the Maltese yesterday was: Trust yourselves. What looks like a threat may in fact turn out to be an opportunity; what appears to be a constraint could instead prove a valuable discipline. The long-time opponent of the European project, Anthony Coughlan, is also in Malta this week, presenting a very different picture of the consequences of EU membership and attributing Ireland's economic success primarily to our low exchange rate policy which he sees as coming under threat when the single European currency is finally launched next year.
Whatever their relationship with the EU, small island states like Ireland, Malta and Cyprus cannot turn their backs on the modern world and must confront the many challenges of the increasingly-integrated global economy. Malta is likely to hold a referendum in the next year or so; Ireland will probably get there first with a poll on the Treaty of Nice. There are suggestions that some Irish politicians would prefer not to hold a referendum on the Nice outcome. That would be a pity and would reflect a lack of confidence in the judgment of the people. Momentous developments are taking place with a large portion of the former communist bloc about to be absorbed into a single broad economic and political unit - because this is what the European partnership has now become. Great questions are being posed and Ireland must find her own answers to them. In the past there may have been a fear of alienating the paymaster with a noisy debate about our European role. Our economic advance needs to be accompanied by similar progress towards political maturity. Conducted in a proper and civilised manner, controversy can be the lifeblood of democracy. Let the people have their say.