“Toughest, longest, even the meanest discussion.”

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat after EU leaders spent seven hours sparring about a migrant relocation system. At the end of the acrimonious summit he hailed it a “major breakthrough”.

If you think you’re part of some EU collegiate to help you out of the migrant crisis, you’ve got another thing coming.

Ukip leader Nigel Farage pooh-poohing the EU leaders’ migration relocation system, saying Malta, Greece and Italy were in for a terrible shock if they believed the EU would provide solidarity.

“Today, we almost said take it or leave it.”

Finance Minister Edward Scicluna expressing his frustration in Brussels with the Greek government’s handling of the bailout negotiations.

“Tourism is all about selling the beauty of the land. A day may come when tourists no longer visit because they discover the island is polluted.”

University of Padova environmental crime lecturer Grazia Canuto on Malta’s poor environmental record.

“I get the feeling Malta isn’t just LGBT-tolerant, but LGBT-friendly."

US special envoy for LGBT rights Randy Berry highlighting Malta’s potential as a gay tourism destination.

“It’s like framing a Caravaggio in plastic.”

Art historian Francesca Balzan criticising the amateurish exhibitions being put up at Renzo Piano’s new Parliament building that were a “condemnation to our sense of taste”.

“Land essentially belongs to us all. What Pope Francis says is similar to the Socialist doctrine that the land has to be used for the common good.”

Archbishop Charles Scicluna, in the wake of his opposition to the university project at Żonqor, defending the Pope’s encyclical on the environment.