“A competitive Europe is a connected Europe. Connectivity is a strategic asset that plays a key role in maintaining competitiveness, ensuring that peripheral regions, including Island Member States, can overcome existing barriers, particularly in aviation, maritime transport and energy.”
On Wednesday, in a meeting with the Minister for European Affairs of the Kingdom of Denmark Marie Bjerre, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tourism Ian Borg encouraged the upcoming Danish EU Council Presidency to guide the EU in ensuring that island member states like Malta are not left in a competitive disadvantage because of their geographical location, undermining the cherished European notion of a level playing field for all.
Minister Bjerre is in Malta for high level meetings with the Maltese authorities, as Denmark prepares to take on the rotating Council Presidency between July and December. Wednesday’s meeting focused on Denmark’s priorities for the Presidency, including the green transition, Ukraine, security and migration.
The two ministers discussed several EU matters, including EU trade and the upcoming Single Market Strategy, noting that this policy must provide a roadmap to address remaining barriers in both goods and services. “While the free movement of services needs improvement, our main concern lies with the free movement of essential goods, which directly affect our citizens,” said Ian Borg.
The meeting also discussed future EU enlargement. Deputy Prime Minister Ian Borg noted that Malta supports the agreed principles of a merit-based process as outlined in the Copenhagen Criteria. “We believe that the progress achieved so far must be sustained to deliver further results in 2025. It is essential to acknowledge the efforts made by our partners and continue working together to address unresolved issues,” he stated.
Malta also reiterates that the energy sector is crucial for the green transition, as well as for economic competitiveness, industrial resilience, and innovation. Accelerated investments in energy infrastructure and interconnections are needed, as some member states like Malta require increased access to EU gas and electricity networks.
On security, Ian Borg explained that Malta is military neutral, however, as it has always done in the past, it will not shy away from actively working towards peace in the region and beyond. The deputy prime minister said that Malta will also continue to provide non-military contributions in full respect of the Constitution.
