Meeting of the Representatives of the Parliamentary Committees and the College of Commissioners

Met dank overgenomen van Maltees voorzitterschap Europese Unie 1e helft 2017 (EU2017MT) i, gepubliceerd op woensdag 11 januari 2017.

11.01.2017

Meeting of the Representatives of the Parliamentary Committees and the College of Commissioners

... in order for Europe to move away from this situation, it needs the

trust of its citizens, also through their elected

representatives in national parliaments.

Today, Speaker Anġlu Farrugia chaired the informal meeting between the Standing Committees of the Maltese Parliament and the College of Commissioners present in Malta for the official opening ceremony of the Maltese Presidency of the Council of the EU.

In his opening speech, Speaker Farrugia thanked the Commissioners for their visit and highlighted that their commitment to visit the national parliament – both at the start and during the Presidency – is proof of the ever-growing importance of national parliaments at European level. He added that he recognised the need for this commitment given the fact that nowadays Europe’s existence is in a critical state. He concluded that in order for Europe to move away from this situation, it needs the trust of its citizens, also through their elected representatives in national parliaments.

The President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker stated that he placed a lot of importance on national parliaments. As a result, the College started to visit national parliaments with every rotation of the Presidency of the Council as soon as he became President of the existing Commission.

The Maltese Parliamentary Members highlighted the committees’ work in connection to the six interparliamentary meetings they will set up throughout the Maltese Presidency, as well as raising various points they feel Europe should act upon.

A number of commissioners gave out statements on the concrete results achieved by the Commission’s work in Member States. In his concluding statement, President Juncker expressed his satisfaction on prioritising the social dimension during these six months not only by Malta, but also the Maltese Parliament.

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