Malta has been invited to form part of the trio of countries presiding the Council of the European Union from January 2016 to June 2017. Slovakia will by the president, with the co-presidents being Malta and The Netherlands
They will hold their first meeting today.
The countries aim to have an in-depth exchange of views on the level of preparedness for their respective presidencies of the Council of the EU, approve the timeline and modalities of the 18-month Trio programme preparations and discuss further possibilities of cooperation including mutual representation in EU Council working groups, third countries, and international conferences.
Malta's delegation in Bratislava is being led by the Parliamentary Secretary for EU Presidency 2017 Ian Borg.