The Maltese Presidency of the European Union 2017

Abstract:

Every Presidency of the European Union seeks to leave its own mark in one way or another on one or more particular facets of the evolving process of the European Union. This becomes even more important for a Member State who, like my own country, Malta, has been at the helm for the first time. In my view, the three most prominent aspects of the Maltese Presidency are the setting out of a joint vision for the European Union for the years to come; the formal commencement of the Brexit process; and the particular focus on the EU’s Mediterranean Policy.

This paper seeks to address these three matters by first having a look at what happened during the six months’ term of the Maltese Presidency and then by expressing my views on the results achieved and on the way forward.