At the Grandmaster’s Palace in Valletta, final touches are being put in place ahead of the start of Malta’s six-month EU presidency in January.

Works on the main plenary hall, which replaced the old Parliament chamber after its move to the new building at City Gate, are all but complete, as is a new media centre catering for up to 250 journalists within the Palace.

Several of the Palace staterooms have also been repurposed as workstations for European delegates, bilateral meeting rooms, and temporary offices for Maltese government ministers hosting individual meetings.

Some 20,000 delegates and 1,500 journalists are expected to descend on Malta between January and June, with 16 meetings of the European Council, and some 200 in all, scheduled to take place.

A meeting of the 27 EU heads of government will also be held in Malta on February 3 to address the EU’s post-Brexit future.

Addressing a press conference at the Palace this morning, parliamentary secretary for the EU presidency Ian Borg announced that GO and PBS would be the official technical support partners for the event, following a public call last year.

PBS will be providing live broadcasting of several meetings throughout the presidency while GO will equip internet, WiFi and videoconferencing facilities throughout the meeting rooms and press centre.

Mr Borg said: “I am convinced that with these two entities’ technical expertise, Malta will be well placed to offer the best service and spread its message around Europe as effectively as possible.”

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