Gonzi for talks with Finnish PM

Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen yesterday held talks in Brussels with the president of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso and the president of the European Parliament Josep Borell, briefing them on his country's agenda at the helm of the EU as from July when Finland takes over the EU presidency from Austria.

Efficiency, one of the main characteristics of this northern European country, will be one of the main thrusts of the Finnish presidency. Mr Vanhanen told Mr Barroso that Helsinki will deal with the issues on the EU's agenda in a successful, efficient and objective manner. The future of the European Constitution, energy policy, justice cooperation and enlargement are expected to dominate the Finnish presidency's term in office.

Meanwhile, Malta's priorities for the latter six months of this year will be clearly explained next week in Helsinki during a one-on-one meeting between Maltese Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and his Finnish counterpart.

A spokesman for the Finnish government yesterday told The Times that Dr Gonzi, who was invited to the talks by the Finnish Prime Minister, is expected to meet Mr Vanhanen on Wednesday. Malta's plea for more tangible help from the EU on fighting illegal immigration is one of the subjects expected to be tackled during these talks.

The spokesman said that Dr Gonzi is also expected to pay a visit to the Gulf of Finland Coast Guard.

During the talks the Prime Minister will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Michael Frendo.

Dr Gonzi will be attending an ECOFIN meeting today in Brussels where he will be accompanied by Malta's Permanent Representative at the EU, Richard Cachia Caruana, the Permanent Secretary at the Finance Ministry, Alfred Camilleri and Policy Co-ordinator at the Office of the Prime Minister Leonard Callus.

The Prime Minister is expected back today.