Malta’s presidency of the Council of the European Union will herald the beginning of a European “reunion” project, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said today in a New Year’s message to the nation.

Dr Muscat said Malta had to “rise to the occasion” and ensure its moment at the helm of the Council helped the EU overcome the serious challenges it faced.

He said Malta’s “humble and honest” agenda for its six-month presidency period would prioritise improving the everyday lives of every EU citizen.

A successful presidency would also prove that being the EU’s smallest member state was not necessarily a disadvantage, he added.

Malta will assume the helm of the EU's Council of Ministers at midnight, taking over from Slovakia. The presidency rotates between member states every six months. 

Dr Muscat hinted that the government would be focusing on income inequality and improved working conditions in 2017.

“We understand that despite economic growth, some feel they are falling behind… and despite there being a record amount of work, some expect better conditions. We will address these realities with facts,” he said.

The Prime Minister went on to list a series of measures his government had introduced to help pensioners, low-income earners, working mothers, single parents, small-scale entrepreneurs and people living with a disability.

He described Malta as one of Europe's most stable countries, with a population that was more optimistic about the future than that of any other EU state.

Dr Muscat made passing reference to the international political turmoil that had roiled 2016, saying the year’s “extraordinary” events had sent a clear message that people were no longer willing to settle.

The lessons the year had imparted were also valid here in Malta, the Prime Minister said, as he warned that poor choices could lead to the country “losing everything”.

“We want to end 2017 by saying that we ended the year better than we started it,” he said, as he urged Maltese to come together and show that Malta had grown into “a modern European nation with solid values.”