{"id":60257,"date":"2026-10-02T15:49:47","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T14:49:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/?p=60257"},"modified":"2026-10-02T15:49:49","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T14:49:49","slug":"malta-urges-stronger-engagement-with-southern-neighbours-prosperity-in-europe-depends-on-stability-in-the-mediterranean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/02\/malta-urges-stronger-engagement-with-southern-neighbours-prosperity-in-europe-depends-on-stability-in-the-mediterranean\/","title":{"rendered":"Malta urges stronger engagement with southern neighbours: \u201cProsperity in Europe depends on stability in the Mediterranean\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Malta called for stronger partnerships between the European Union and the countries of the southern Mediterranean at the MED9 Conference in Trogir, Croatia, with Minister Chris Fearne stressing that the region\u2019s prosperity and stability depend on closer cooperation across both shores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He emphasised that the European countries of the Mediterranean represent only one shore of the region. \u201cThe Mediterranean is not a border. It is a shared region,\u201d Minister Fearne said. To advance prosperity and stability across the Mediterranean, Europe must engage more closely with its southern neighbours and approach the region as a whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Such engagement, he stressed, must go beyond migration. Describing migration as a symptom of wider challenges, he underlined the need for more constructive relations with southern neighbours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The meeting focused on the EU\u2019s long-term budget and enlargement, including its security implications. Across both discussions, Minister Fearne emphasised the need for European decisions to deliver tangible improvements in people\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The MFF, he said, must make Europe safer, more competitive and more prosperous by strengthening Member States\u2019 economies. He stressed that cohesion remained essential to ensuring that all countries participate in Europe\u2019s economic development, while EU funding needed to be accessible to smaller Member States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On enlargement, Minister Fearne reaffirmed Malta\u2019s support, highlighting its contribution to prosperity and stability and its potential to strengthen the Mediterranean voice within the Union. He called for accession processes to move forward without unnecessary delays, with outstanding issues addressed before membership. He also underlined the importance of preserving unanimity in major political decisions, ensuring that common positions are reached through consensus and that the citizens of all Member States are represented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Returning to the Mediterranean dimension, Minister Fearne highlighted the discussions taking place with the Commissioner for the Mediterranean as an opportunity to advance closer engagement across the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Malta\u2019s position, he stressed, is that the Mediterranean should not be viewed as a border separating Europe from its southern neighbours, but as a shared region whose prosperity and stability depend on cooperation between both shores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Photos: MFEA<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div><p id=\"pvc_stats_60257\" class=\"pvc_stats all  \" data-element-id=\"60257\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.0\" viewBox=\"0 0 502 315\" preserveAspectRatio=\"xMidYMid meet\"><g transform=\"translate(0,332) scale(0.1,-0.1)\" fill=\"\" stroke=\"none\"><path d=\"M2394 3279 l-29 -30 -3 -207 c-2 -182 0 -211 15 -242 39 -76 157 -76 196 0 15 31 17 60 15 243 l-3 209 -33 29 c-26 23 -41 29 -80 29 -41 0 -53 -5 -78 -31z\"\/><path d=\"M3085 3251 c-45 -19 -58 -50 -96 -229 -47 -217 -49 -260 -13 -295 52 -53 146 -42 177 20 16 31 87 366 87 410 0 70 -86 122 -155 94z\"\/><path d=\"M1751 3234 c-13 -9 -29 -31 -37 -50 -12 -29 -10 -49 21 -204 19 -94 39 -189 45 -210 14 -50 54 -80 110 -80 34 0 48 6 76 34 21 21 34 44 34 59 0 14 -18 113 -40 219 -37 178 -43 195 -70 221 -36 32 -101 37 -139 11z\"\/><path d=\"M1163 3073 c-36 -7 -73 -59 -73 -102 0 -56 133 -378 171 -413 34 -32 83 -37 129 -13 70 36 67 87 -16 290 -86 209 -89 214 -129 231 -35 14 -42 15 -82 7z\"\/><path d=\"M3689 3066 c-15 -9 -33 -30 -42 -48 -48 -103 -147 -355 -147 -375 0 -98 131 -148 192 -74 13 15 57 108 97 206 80 196 84 226 37 273 -30 30 -99 39 -137 18z\"\/><path d=\"M583 2784 c-38 -19 -67 -74 -58 -113 9 -42 211 -354 242 -373 16 -10 45 -18 66 -18 51 0 107 52 107 100 0 39 -1 41 -124 234 -80 126 -108 162 -133 173 -41 17 -61 16 -100 -3z\"\/><path d=\"M4250 2784 c-14 -9 -74 -91 -133 -183 -95 -150 -107 -173 -107 -213 0 -55 33 -94 87 -104 67 -13 90 8 211 198 130 202 137 225 78 284 -27 27 -42 34 -72 34 -22 0 -50 -8 -64 -16z\"\/><path d=\"M2275 2693 c-553 -48 -1095 -270 -1585 -649 -135 -104 -459 -423 -483 -476 -23 -49 -22 -139 2 -186 73 -142 361 -457 571 -626 285 -228 642 -407 990 -497 242 -63 336 -73 660 -74 310 0 370 5 595 52 535 111 1045 392 1455 803 122 121 250 273 275 326 19 41 19 137 0 174 -41 79 -309 363 -465 492 -447 370 -946 591 -1479 653 -113 14 -422 18 -536 8z m395 -428 c171 -34 330 -124 456 -258 112 -119 167 -219 211 -378 27 -96 24 -300 -5 -401 -72 -255 -236 -447 -474 -557 -132 -62 -201 -76 -368 -76 -167 0 -236 14 -368 76 -213 98 -373 271 -451 485 -162 444 86 934 547 1084 153 49 292 57 452 25z m909 -232 c222 -123 408 -262 593 -441 76 -74 138 -139 138 -144 0 -16 -233 -242 -330 -319 -155 -123 -309 -223 -461 -299 l-81 -41 32 46 c18 26 49 83 70 128 143 306 141 649 -6 957 -25 52 -61 116 -79 142 l-34 47 45 -20 c26 -10 76 -36 113 -56z m-2057 25 c-40 -58 -105 -190 -130 -263 -110 -324 -59 -707 132 -981 25 -35 42 -64 37 -64 -19 0 -241 119 -326 174 -188 122 -406 314 -532 468 l-58 71 108 103 c185 178 428 349 672 473 66 33 121 60 123 61 2 0 -10 -19 -26 -42z\"\/><path d=\"M2375 1950 c-198 -44 -350 -190 -395 -379 -18 -76 -8 -221 19 -290 114 -284 457 -406 731 -260 98 52 188 154 231 260 27 69 37 214 19 290 -38 163 -166 304 -326 360 -67 23 -215 33 -279 19z\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/i> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"Loading\" src=\"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/page-views-count\/ajax-loader-2x.gif\" border=0 \/><\/p><div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Malta called for stronger partnerships between the European Union and the countries of the southern Mediterranean at the MED9 Conference in Trogir, Croatia, with Minister Chris Fearne stressing that the region\u2019s prosperity and stability depend on closer cooperation across both shores. He emphasised that the European countries of the Mediterranean represent only one shore of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"pvc_stats_60257\" class=\"pvc_stats all  \" data-element-id=\"60257\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.0\" viewBox=\"0 0 502 315\" preserveAspectRatio=\"xMidYMid meet\"><g transform=\"translate(0,332) scale(0.1,-0.1)\" fill=\"\" stroke=\"none\"><path d=\"M2394 3279 l-29 -30 -3 -207 c-2 -182 0 -211 15 -242 39 -76 157 -76 196 0 15 31 17 60 15 243 l-3 209 -33 29 c-26 23 -41 29 -80 29 -41 0 -53 -5 -78 -31z\"\/><path d=\"M3085 3251 c-45 -19 -58 -50 -96 -229 -47 -217 -49 -260 -13 -295 52 -53 146 -42 177 20 16 31 87 366 87 410 0 70 -86 122 -155 94z\"\/><path d=\"M1751 3234 c-13 -9 -29 -31 -37 -50 -12 -29 -10 -49 21 -204 19 -94 39 -189 45 -210 14 -50 54 -80 110 -80 34 0 48 6 76 34 21 21 34 44 34 59 0 14 -18 113 -40 219 -37 178 -43 195 -70 221 -36 32 -101 37 -139 11z\"\/><path d=\"M1163 3073 c-36 -7 -73 -59 -73 -102 0 -56 133 -378 171 -413 34 -32 83 -37 129 -13 70 36 67 87 -16 290 -86 209 -89 214 -129 231 -35 14 -42 15 -82 7z\"\/><path d=\"M3689 3066 c-15 -9 -33 -30 -42 -48 -48 -103 -147 -355 -147 -375 0 -98 131 -148 192 -74 13 15 57 108 97 206 80 196 84 226 37 273 -30 30 -99 39 -137 18z\"\/><path d=\"M583 2784 c-38 -19 -67 -74 -58 -113 9 -42 211 -354 242 -373 16 -10 45 -18 66 -18 51 0 107 52 107 100 0 39 -1 41 -124 234 -80 126 -108 162 -133 173 -41 17 -61 16 -100 -3z\"\/><path d=\"M4250 2784 c-14 -9 -74 -91 -133 -183 -95 -150 -107 -173 -107 -213 0 -55 33 -94 87 -104 67 -13 90 8 211 198 130 202 137 225 78 284 -27 27 -42 34 -72 34 -22 0 -50 -8 -64 -16z\"\/><path d=\"M2275 2693 c-553 -48 -1095 -270 -1585 -649 -135 -104 -459 -423 -483 -476 -23 -49 -22 -139 2 -186 73 -142 361 -457 571 -626 285 -228 642 -407 990 -497 242 -63 336 -73 660 -74 310 0 370 5 595 52 535 111 1045 392 1455 803 122 121 250 273 275 326 19 41 19 137 0 174 -41 79 -309 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Lynch","author_link":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/author\/bernardlynch\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Malta called for stronger partnerships between the European Union and the countries of the southern Mediterranean at the MED9 Conference in Trogir, Croatia, with Minister Chris Fearne stressing that the region\u2019s prosperity and stability depend on closer cooperation across both shores. He emphasised that the European countries of the Mediterranean represent only one shore of&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60257"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60257\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60259,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60257\/revisions\/60259"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/livenewsmalta.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}