Prime Minister will shuttle from Ta’ Qali to Brussels for EU summit

Robert Abela will be leaving for a summit of EU leaders after addressing the Labour Party’s last election rally on Thursday evening.

However, the Prime Minister will miss the introductory part of the European Council, which also included a meeting with US President Joe Biden on support for Ukraine.

The European Council is discussing Russian military aggression against Ukraine, security and defence, energy, economic issues, COVID-19 and external relations.

A Maltese government spokesperson said arrangements have been made with the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez at technical level to make sure Malta's interests are safeguarded. Sanchez will put forward Malta’s views on subjects of relevance.

“This is common practice when leaders do not attend or miss part of the meeting,” the spokesperson said.

During summits, prime ministers or heads of government cannot send somebody in their stead if they are unable to attend.

Malta holds a general election on Saturday and Abela will be present for all summit proceedings on Friday.

“The Prime Minister will be present to discuss the energy and food security parts of the agenda,” the spokesperson said.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has not only created security concerns in Europe but has also had an impact on energy and food inflation.

Europe’s dependence on Russian gas is a major consideration for European leaders when determining what sanctions should be imposed on Russia. Leaders have already agreed on a raft of sanctions but weaning off from the dependence on Russian gas will be harder to achieve without creating hardship on EU citizens.