New EU President in Malta tomorrow

Herman Van Rompuy, the new European Council President, will pay his first official visit to Malta tomorrow.

Mr Van Rompuy will be holding talks with Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi at Castille where the next extraordinary EU summit on the economy, taking place in Brussels next month, will be the main item on the agenda, a spokesman for the former Belgian Prime Minister told The Times.

Mr Van Rompuy, who has been occupying the newly-created permanent EU Presidency post since the beginning of this year, will be flying into Malta from Athens in the morning.

His visit to the island is expected to last just a few hours as he will be heading to Berlin in the afternoon where he will be having a working dinner with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

"The visit to Malta is part of the tour de capitals the President is doing upon his election to discuss his agenda with the EU leaders and to prepare for next month's summit," the spokesman said.

Mr Van Rompuy was elected as the first permanent EU Council President at the end of last year by EU leaders. His post will last for two-and-a-half years renewable for another term.