Dar Malta in Brussels, the subject of a call for more officers.Dar Malta in Brussels, the subject of a call for more officers.

Parliamentary Secretary Ian Borg yesterday briefed the House Foreign and European Affairs Committee on preparations for Malta’s presidency of the EU in the first six months of 2017.

Dr Borg said Malta was doing its utmost to limit expenditure. Although it was too early to calculate the expenditure, on average countries spent about €65 million. The Polish presidency spent about €120 million, while Denmark limited its expenditure to €40 million.

Malta was working on a three-year budget, Dr Borg said. A call for more officers to work at Dar Malta in Brussels was issued. Malta would need about 200 officers during the presidency period.

Ambassador Victor Camilleri held a meeting for Maltese officials and urged them to contribute to the presidency. Government officials were being trained in negotiation and language skills to be able to participate and chair working groups.

Other meetings had been held with the Malta Tourism Authority, Malta Enterprise and other stakeholders.

Meetings with Alfred Sant and David Casa, as heads of the two Maltese delegations to the European Parliament, were also being held in order to involve the Maltese MEPs during the presidency.

Nationalist MP Minister Tonio Fenech asked for details of the strategic issues Malta intended to push forward or to manage during the presidency.

He said it was essential that Maltese officials be trained also on sensitive technical issues that were fundamental for Malta.

Dr Borg emphasised the need for the Maltese to understand the European parliamentary process.

As president, Malta would negotiate to push forward its own issues on the agenda, including its neighbourhood policy, Mediterranean and maritime affairs and the migration issue.

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