Migration key issue for 2017 EU presidency - Vella

Foreign minister George Vella met with Miroslav Lajčák, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic in Valletta this afternoon.

Top of the agenda was the upcoming presidency of the European Union, which will be held jointly by Malta, Slovakia and the Netherlands. Vella and Lajčák will be discussing the direction the joint leadership of the union will take.

Vella pointed out that problems faced by both countries are similar – Slovakia’s borders were affected by the unrest in Ukraine and Malta’s are affected by those in Libya and said that the circumstances around both countries will ultimately affect the agenda.

“It is too early to come out with topics and issues that will be discussed at EU level when the time comes, but there is a tendency on the part of every member state to steer discussions towards its own concerns,” also commenting that “there is a lot of baggage from the previous presidency.”

Vella assured his Slovak counterpart that Malta is “all out to cooperate and learn from each other and work together”, saying “we will do our utmost to deliver when it comes to the presidency. We have the will and the human resources to do this.”

Lajčák thanked Vella for his visit earlier this year, highlighting Malta and Slovakia’s excellent relations. “There is space for expanding our economic cooperation, with thousands of Slovaks coming to Malta as English language students. We come from different backgrounds but have much in common”.

Echoing Vella’s comments, he said that in the same way Malta is exposed from the South, Slovakia is exposed from the East and augured that today’s discussions would be mutually enriching.