Euro-Mediterranean relations - Malta’s forthcoming EU presidency : personal reflections

Abstract

alta will be taking up the challenge of running the Presidency of the European Union on the 1st of January 2017. It will be the first time for Malta to hold the Presidency since it became a member of the EU in 2004. The next time Malta will hold the Presidency will be from July to December 2030. One area identified as an absolute priority for the Maltese Presidency is the Mediterranean. This makes sense, because of Malta’s location and its history and because, in any case, the subject is very topical with the whole question of migration and the huge security concerns that exist within and around the region. The last time that a Presidency was held by a Member State, which had an immediate interest in the Mediterranean, was in 2014 when it was held by Greece in the first six months and then by Italy during the second six months. The next time around will be in 2020 when Croatia will be at the helm. Meanwhile Bulgaria and Romania will each be holding the Presidency; however, presumably, they will focus more on the Black Sea than on the Mediterranean. The EU Presidency will thus be entrusted to a Mediterranean State after a gap of two years and then again, there will be another gap of over two years before the EU Presidency lands in the hands of another Mediterranean State.