Prime Minister in Berlin for talks ahead of Bratislava summit

The meeting on Friday is expected to focus mainly on the implications of Britain’s exit from the EU on other member states

Prime minister Joseph Muscat in Berlin for talks with German chancellor Angela Merkel and the leaders of Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal and Cyprus
Prime minister Joseph Muscat in Berlin for talks with German chancellor Angela Merkel and the leaders of Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal and Cyprus

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat was welcomed in Berlin by German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday for talks with other EU leaders about the future of the EU ahead of the upcoming Informal Summit of European Leaders in Bratislava.

Muscat joined the Prime Minister of Latvia Māris Kučinskis, the President of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė, the Prime Minister of Portugal António Costa, and the President of Cyprus Nikos Anastasiadis.

The meeting on Friday is expected to focus mainly on the implications of Britain’s exit from the EU on other member states and is of particular importance to Malta as it prepares to take on the presidency of the EU in January.

On Monday, EU Council president Donald Tusk will be visiting Malta and meeting Muscat at Castille for further talks.

Muscat is expected to update Tusk on the outcome of last Friday’s discussions in Athens between Mediterranean countries, which agreed that the region be placed on the European agenda regarding economic and immigration measures.

The need to address basic economic problems being faced by Greece, Italy, Cyprus and Spain – who have the highest unemployment rates in the EU – was also highlighted.