Von der Leyen’s 2025 State of the Union: What Malta stands to gain (and lose)

**Watch: Von der Leyen gives her 2025 State of the Union speech – What it means for Malta**

As Ursula von der Leyen took to the European Parliament podium on Wednesday morning to deliver her fifth State of the Union address, Maltese eyes were fixed on Brussels with more than casual curiosity. The Commission President’s annual stock-take is always dissected in Valletta’s corridors of power, but this year the speech landed against a particularly Maltese backdrop: a record-breaking summer tourist season, ballooning energy bills and the looming deadline to spend €300 million in unclaimed EU recovery funds.

Speaking to a chamber that included Nationalist MEP Roberta Metsola and Labour MEP Cyrus Engerer, von der Leyen opened with a blunt warning that “Europe’s prosperity can no longer be taken for granted”. For Malta, the smallest EU state and the most densely populated, that prosperity hinges on three pillars singled out in the 70-minute address: clean energy, tourism resilience and skilled migration.

**Energy: from Sicilian cable to hydrogen dreams**

Von der Leyen doubled-down on the 2040 climate target, promising a “hydrogen bank 2.0” capable of unlocking €3 billion in private capital for renewable projects. While Malta still sources 70 % of its electricity from the ageing Delimara power station, the Commission chief name-checked the €170 million Malta–Sicily interconnector upgrade approved last month, telling MEPs that “every kilowatt saved in Malta is a kilowatt that strengthens the whole Mediterranean grid”.

Energy Minister Miriam Dalli, watching from her Marsa office, later told Times of Malta the reference was “a pat on the back” that should speed up environmental permitting for the second cable, due online in 2028. Households, however, are unlikely to see cheaper bills before then; ARMS tariffs are pegged to volatile gas markets and the new EU-wide carbon levy kicks in next January.

**Tourism: ‘quality over quantity’**

Tourism accounted for 27 % of Malta’s GDP pre-COVID, and von der Leyen’s pledge to move “from volume to value” resonated loudly in a summer when Malta International Airport processed 900,000 passengers in July alone—10 % above 2019 levels. The Commission will launch a €50 million “Blue Tourism” pilot, funding eco-certification for small hotels and diving centres. Gozo’s farmhouse owners, still reeling from June’s coastal sewage spill, are expected to scramble for grants that cover grey-water recycling systems.

But not everyone is cheering. “We welcome the funds, but Brussels needs to stop moving the goal-posts,” said Tony Zahra, president of the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association. “One year it’s sustainability, the next it’s digital skills. Our staff turnover is already 40 %; we need consistency, not buzzwords.”

**Migration: the skills bottleneck**

Perhaps the most thunderous applause in Strasbourg came when von der Leyen proposed a “talent pool” allowing non-EU nurses, engineers and chefs to match with vacancies before they arrive. Malta, grappling with 9,000 job vacancies in health and hospitality, is earmarked as a pilot country. Parliamentary Secretary for Citizenship Alex Muscat immediately tweeted a Maltese flag emoji, hinting that streamlined recognition of Philippine and Indian qualifications could be rolled out by spring.

Yet the ghost of 2015 still haunts the debate. NGO Republikki warned that tying work visas to employer sponsorship “risks creating a new tier of indentured labour” unless enforcement is beefed up. With 40 % of Malta’s current migrants on temporary permits, the devil will be in the detail.

**What happens next?**

Von der Leyen’s speech is not legally binding; it sets the legislative menu for the year ahead. Draft laws must still navigate Malta’s veto in the Council, where Energy Minister Dalli sits. Over coffee in Valletta, one EU official predicted “horse-trading” over whether Malta can keep selling golden passports beyond the 2025 phase-out demanded by Brussels.

For ordinary Maltese, the real test will be felt in three places: the electricity bill landing in October, the booking patterns of next summer’s tourists, and the nurse-to-patient ratio at Mater Dei. Von der Leyen closed her speech with the rallying cry “Europe is our future”. In Malta, that future is measured in kilowatts, cruise-ship manifests and overtime rosters—proof, if any were needed, that grand continental visions ultimately dock in local harbours.