At the invitation of the President of the European Council Charles Michel, Prime Minister Robert Abela attended the meeting together with four European leaders in preparation for the Strategic Agenda of the European Union for the next five years (2024-2029). .
With this meeting in this smaller format, other meetings of this type will follow, including the one attended by the Prime Minister a few weeks ago in Croatia to carry out preparatory work in order to draw up the Agenda Strategy for the next mandate. An agenda that directs the priorities, which the European institutions will work on in the next five years.
Around the table, Prime Minister Robert Abela put forward the priorities that are of importance to Malta, priorities that revolve around what families are living and experiencing and that is a priority for them. The Prime Minister spoke about priorities that revolve around peace, economic growth, immigration, social, transport, energy and health among others.
The Prime Minister Robert Abela explained that in such discussions in smaller groups, the leaders will be able to go into more detail about specific issues and that therefore the discussion on the Strategic Agenda provides a unique platform to do this. With the priorities they should focus on the tangible benefits that the Union provides for citizens and how we will continue to improve them.
“We want our families to relate, understand and finally enjoy the work of the European Union and therefore it is necessary that the priorities for the next five years reflect the priorities of the people.”
Regarding the single market, Prime Minister Abela explained that there are still circumstances where certain countries such as Malta remain disadvantaged. Therefore, he said that when we talk about the single market, we need to move from just recognizing the challenges and ensure concrete action in particular when it comes to access to medicines.
Around the table, the Prime Minister also spoke about the need to strengthen relations with countries that have the same values and principles as ours, to further strengthen economic security.
In the discussion on energy and transport interconnections, the Prime Minister reiterated the importance of not losing European competitiveness and that all member countries should have the same opportunities. With this, in the words of the Prime Minister, it should not be an option, because these are crucial for the member states, especially for Malta. “And our businesses and citizens, regarding the challenges linked to this subject are waiting for concrete action.”
With the leaders, Prime Minister Robert Abela spoke about another consistent position that we have been pushing as the Maltese Government. “When we talk about immigration, we need coordinated work to prevent the departure of immigrants from North Africa. And this is done not with effort and work from one side, ie the European Union but also with the countries in North Africa. Dialogue with these countries is crucial.”
He concluded that we need to talk and work hand in hand with countries like Libya, something that Malta has pushed forward and is moving forward. “A country with enormous potential in the Mediterranean region for which we have a clear vision. To be a centre also of clean energy and to create opportunities.”
Photos (OPM)
