All members of the Cabinet will be in Brussels next week for meetings related to the upcoming Maltese presidency of the European Union, government whip Godfrey Farrugia told the House Business Committee this afternoon.

He made the announcement as the committee drafted parliament's programme up to the Christmas recess.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Anġlu Farrugia also told the meeting that the president of the European Parliament will pay an official visit to Malta on December 8, before Malta takes over the EU Presidency.

Martin Schulz will be accompanied by the leaders of the main parties represented in the European Parliament. They would be having meetings with the government and the political parties. 

Dr Farrugia said that a private member's bill to amend the Criminal Code, moved by Jason Azzopardi, would be debated next Monday.

The Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Mario de Marco, said that the Opposition's motion for the publication of the bank guarantee issued by the government to Electrogas Ltd should have been given precedence. He noted that this motion had been put forward over 18 months ago, back when Finance Minister Edward Scicluna had said that the guarantee would be in place for only six months.

Other important bills to be discussed before the Christmas recess on December 21 include the Cohabitation Bill , the Standards in Public Life Bill, and the Malta Development Bank Bill.

The vote on the Budget will be taken on December 7 in a sitting solely devoted for this purpose. The Budget debate ended last week.