Parliamentary Secretary Ian Borg participates in two debates at the European Parliament in Strasbourg
19.01.2017
Parliamentary Secretary Ian Borg participates in two debates at the European Parliament in Strasbourg
Effective control of our
external borders will be
one of the top priorities
during the coming
semester...
Following yesterday’s presentation of the priorities of the incoming Maltese Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers by Prime Minister Muscat, Parliamentary Secretary Ian Borg participated in two debates: on the state of play on the Financial Transaction Tax negotiations and on Emergency Aid for refugees and migrants facing severe weather conditions in European camps.
On the state of play on Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) Dr Borg remarked that in December 2013, the European Parliament gave its consent to enhanced cooperation, whereby 11 Member States went ahead with the tax. The state of play on these negotiations was regularly discussed publicly at the Council and the Presidency was ready to continue this practice, even though Malta is not an FTT participating country, Dr Borg said.
During the second debate, with regards to the challenging scenario migrants were facing due to the wintery conditions, Parliamentary Secretary Borg said that changing the weather outlook was not possible but he said we have at our disposal resources and instruments that can remedy the immediate negative consequences of the adverse difficulties being encountered.
He said that the Presidency would be closely monitoring the situation and was in permanent contact with Member States, the Commission as well as EU Agencies and remained fully committed to do everything possible to improve the situation and help frontline countries, in the short and in the long term. Effective control of our external borders will be one of the top priorities during the coming semester, he said in his concluding remarks.
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