The German Chancellor trusts that Malta will offer excellent leadership for the EU Presidency

Met dank overgenomen van Maltees voorzitterschap Europese Unie 1e helft 2017 (EU2017MT) i, gepubliceerd op dinsdag 29 november 2016.

29.11.2016

The German Chancellor trusts that Malta will offer excellent leadership for the EU Presidency

...Malta's geographical position will help the

Presidency put the most important themes high

on the agenda.

After the official talks with the French President François Hollande and the Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny, the next stop for Prime Minister Joseph Muscat was in Berlin, where he met the German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in preparation for the Maltese Presidency of the European Union as from January next year.

Angela Merkel expressed her satisfaction with Malta taking over the leadership of the Council of the EU as, in her own words, Malta is ready to shoulder this responsibility in an exemplary way. The German

Chancellor said that she looks forward for this Presidency to be led by a country that has excellent bilateral relations with Germany. She explained that Malta's geographical position will help the Presidency put the most important themes high on the agenda.

Faced with this vote of confidence, the Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said that Malta should be judged on its work. Malta is proud of its work and will continue working in the best way possible. “This will be a pragmatic Presidency,” added Dr Muscat.

With regards to migration, the two leaders agreed that this is an ever-changing challenge that evolves every day especially due the situation in Turkey, the lack of stability in Libya and the Mediterranean Route. They stressed how dialogue and agreements between all the stakeholders are necessary and mentioned the need of dividing well the burden of migration.

Both sides also talked about Brexit. The Prime Minister Joseph Muscat explained that Malta has historical ties with the United Kingdom and it is in favour of a fair agreement that is however, inferior to full partnership with the European Union. This, he continued, is agreed by all the twenty-seven member states. The German Chancellor, on the other hand, said that she was expecting Article 50 to be triggered by not later than next March.

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