Malta’s EU presidency was a “fantastic experience” for all the country, from the taxi driver to the experts at the negotiating table, Joseph Muscat said.

In a short video message posted on the official presidency Facebook wall, the Prime Minister yesterday said the country should be proud of what it had achieved over the past six months.

The Prime Minister’s message came on the back of a glowing appraisal of Malta’s six-month stint at the helm of the Council of the European Union by the Brussels-based Politico online news magazine.

“The EU’s smallest country has won praise for its diplomatic prowess in brokering agreement on a range of issues,” Politico said.

Politico also heaped praise on Malta’s negotiating skills in pushing through legislation in dozens of policy areas and awarded the country full marks for its achievements in fisheries and the handling of the EU’s Brexit response.

Politico gave the Maltese presidency team an eight on 10 in the agricultural policy area, describing the success achieved by its “plucky diplomats” as a “task that defeated other governments”.

The heightened political tension as a result of corruption accusations levelled at the government and the subsequent election campaign do not seem to have dented the presidency’s success.

Dr Muscat may have been pilloried by a handful of MEPs in Brussels over his handling of money laundering accusations levelled at his chief of staff but this did not ruffle the feathers of European Commission president Jean Claude Juncker and Council president Donald Tusk.

The two Brussels top guns praised Dr Muscat immeasurably at the final press conference following last week’s end-of-term EU summit.

Amid the battering Dr Muscat was receiving in Malta from the Opposition, Politico praised the government’s achievement to reach an agreement at Council level targeting loopholes available through third-country tax systems.

The news magazine awarded the presidency six marks on 10 for its handling of the financial services portfolio, a result that could have been better had it not been for the Czech finance ministry that held up closure of two tax files.

Malta’s presidency did come with a twist of historical irony that was also noted by Politico.

It had to be the former eurosceptic Labour Party and Dr Muscat to head Malta’s first-ever presidency of the EU since joining the bloc in 2004.

A lot of water has passed under the bridge since Dr Muscat’s advice to people to oppose European Union membership.

Today, a changed man, whose Eurosceptic past crafted him into a europragmatist, Dr Muscat is highly regarded within the European socialists and progressives grouping.

But the presidency also came as a boon for the domestic economy as hotels, restaurants and transport companies benefitted from the myriad of technical meetings held in Malta.

This explains Dr Muscat’s reference to the taxi driver and the hotel employee as he thanked everyone for the success.

The country did use the presidency as a publicity vehicle for brand Malta, with numerous cultural and artistic events being organised on the island and beyond.

And just as it started with an artistic show at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta last January to an invited audience of dignitaries, the presidency ended yesterday with a big open-air concert showcasing Maltese talent at Smart City that was open to all.

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