Within the context of important political developments across the EU and beyond, including the election of a new President of the European Parliament in January, the Maltese Presidency of the EU will be key in determining to what extent compromise can be achieved. Malta’s success depends on its capacity to bridge divergent views between member states and political positions, these points and the priorities for Malta and the link to the European Parliament were discussed today.

A conference organised by the European Parliament Office focused on the salient themes expected during the presidency, together with an overview of the main events planned during the 6 months of Malta’s EU Presidency.

MEP Therese Comodini Cachia called for a process that leads to concrete results. “Let’s make the Presidency our common goal. Let us focus on the lives of citizens, whoever they may be, including the most vulnerable, and steer away from populism. Especially in the context of Brexit, we ought to overcome strong positions on migration and the threat of terrorism,” she said.

In this regard, she emphasised that this is no time for empty promises by the Council of the EU. “Malta has an important role to play in this regard, and I expect that we provide a clear political vision,” she concluded.

Dr Ian Borg, Parliamentary Secretary responsible for the Maltese Presidency of the EU spoke about the divergent views existing between different member states on a range of issues. “We are emerging from a number of crises, related to the economy, migration, as well as Brexit,” he said.

“All this needs to be considered when we speak of priorities which we would like to address. We are ideally positioned to bridge the gap between Europe and its neighbours, especially in the Mediterranean and this affects the way in which we address immigration and terrorism,” he added.

Dr Borg also remarked that besides migration and the revision of the Dublin II Regulation, for Malta the single market was a crucial component for the EU’s success, especially with regards to the digital market.

With regards to migration, the main issues include the strengthening of the Malta-based European Asylum Support Office (EASO), border security, the reform of Dublin II Regulation and initiatives being taken towards a more harmonised way when determining applications for refugee status to ensure consistency between countries.

Discussions also revolved around the digital market in Europe. The removal of obstacles related to the purchase of products and services online, such as divergent VAT rates, delivery of packages ordered online, especially those provided by SMEs, and geoblocking, which prevents consumers from accessing certain content online.

There is also the issue of telecommunications, data transfer and online security. Interventions from the floor, particularly by representatives from civil society, called for more consultation on themes which concern them and for the Presidency to bring citizens closer to the decision-making process, especially where this has a direct impact on them.

The subjects discussed were presented by Dr Peter Agius, head of the European Parliament Office, Dr Josette Zerafa, Director within the Ministry of Home Affairs and National Security, and Mr Joseph Abela, Director within the Ministry for Competitiveness and the Maritime Economy and Services. The discussion was moderated by Mr Stefano Mallia, Member of the European Economic and Social Committee.

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