Malta to wait for EU guidelines before initiating UK bilateral agreements

Current EU budget won’t be affected by UK’s departure • Joseph Muscat says extending Malta’s EU Presidency by further six months would take its toll on the country

The Maltese government will wait for the European Council to adopt guidelines for the negotiations of an agreement with the United Kingdom before initiating any discussions on bilateral agreements.

Addressing a media briefing following an informal meeting of the 27 EU leaders on the future of the European Union, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat welcomed the more sober mood that reigned amongst the leaders who this time round engaged in a political discussion on how the EU has changed and needs to continue changing.

“The discussion was not euphoric but an understanding that things have changed and it is imperative for the EU to continue to change,” Muscat said, reiterating that if a second country were to exit the UK, it would be the EU’s fault.

“I am satisfied that most of the time was taken up discussing politics: people’s lives, how pensioners cannot keep up and the high rate of unemployment amongst youths. It was a realistic meeting.”

Muscat defended the current European Commission as far better than previous ones: “It means business.”

The 27 agreed that once the notification to leave the EU is received from the UK, guidelines will be adopted for the negotiations of an agreement. Until such a notification is delivered, there will be no initiative on behalf of the Maltese government to start bilateral talk. “This would betray what has been agreed around the table,” Muscat added.

He said that any future agreements would be informed of what is being agreed between the EU and the UK. In Malta’s case, there already exists a bilateral agreement on health and the Maltese government intends on furthering and strengthening that agreement.

Two sectors of prime importance to Malta would be education and access to the labour market.

Muscat also insisted that the UK could not cherry-pick the rights and obligations that come with the Single Market and full access necessitates the four freedoms, including freedom of movement.

The current EU budget, Muscat added, will not be affected by a UK departure but technical considerations are necessary to study how the formula that calculates EU funds will be affected. The UK is the EU’s second biggest contributor and, with its departure, member states will automatically become ‘richer’.

The Prime Minister also reiterated that Malta was not ready to do a full 12-month EU Presidency, which starts in January, followed by the UK in July.

“Our resources will be stretched and such a role takes a toll on the country’s resources. It is a diplomatic and operational challenge which Malta has never experienced, both in the diplomatic and political definitions. Our preference is for Estonia to step in six months earlier, or at least share the six months with them.”

Estonia, he added, appeared willing to step in earlier but even the country had its own considerations to make.