Waning euphoria

Malta's EU joy wears thin as EU bloc struggles, writes Nelson Graves for Reuters following an interview with the Maltese Prime Minister:

Malta's euphoria at joining the European Union last year is waning as the bloc struggles to approve a budget and poorer new members face having to share the cost of enlargement, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said. Eighteen months after Malta and nine other nations were admitted with fanfare into the economic bloc, Gonzi said the smallest member still stood by the sacrifices it made to qualify and was benefiting from millions of euros of annual aid. But the joy of joining has yielded to a realisation that the proposed EU constitution is in limbo and that the bloc's budget, needed for long-term investment, is in deadlock, the Maltese prime minister told Reuters in an interview...

FACTBOX-Tiny Malta at Mediterranean crossroads