The government has still to decide whether Konrad Mizzi will be assigned to chair sessions of the Energy Council of Ministers during Malta’s EU presidency.
Asked for a list of Cabinet ministers who will be assigned to chair the different EU Council’s formations during Malta’s six-month stint at the helm, a government spokesman said no final decisions had been made yet.
“The list of chairs of ministerial meetings to be held during Malta’s presidency is not yet finalised and will be decided the coming weeks”, the spokesman said.
According to EU rules, ministers or parliamentary secretaries of the country hosting the six-month rotating presidency are responsible for presiding over both formal and informal meetings.
Apart from the regular meetings in Brussels and Luxembourg, about 13 informal council meetings are expected to be held Malta.
Ministers from all the other 27 member states normally attend such meetings.
Dr Mizzi lost his health and energy portfolios in a Cabinet reshuffle in the wake of the Panama Papers leaks earlier this year. Although he was appointed Minister Without Portfolio and energy now falls under the Prime Minister’s political wing, Dr Mizzi still oversees some energy projects.
The Prime Minister may still choose to send Dr Mizzi.However, this may be a big risk for Dr Muscat, as journalists will surely embarrass Dr Mizzi with questions over Panama
According to a provisional calendar of the presidency, Malta will be presiding over two Energy Council meetings in February and June of 2017, one in Brussels and the other in Luxembourg. It will be hosting an informal Energy Council meeting in Malta in May.
Although Prime Minister Joseph Muscat is responsible for energy, observers say it is unlikely he will chair any specific council meetings apart from the summit meetings.
Dr Mizzi has represented Dr Muscat at an informal Energy Council meeting in Bratislava, and only last week, he also held meetings with European commissioners in Brussels on the energy sector.
Sources close to the government are not excluding the possibility of changes in ministerial portfolios in a bid to avoid having to send Dr Mizzi to preside over European Council meetings.
“The Prime Minister may still choose to send Dr Mizzi. However, this may be a big risk for Dr Muscat, as journalists will surely embarrass Dr Mizzi with questions over Panama,” the observers said.
Malta will be hosting the EU presidency for the first time since its accession to the EU in 2004.
It is expected to mark the start of the presidency with a concert in Brussels on January 16. The services of tenor Joseph Calleja have already been procured for the occasion.