Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and French President Emmanuel Macron are among leaders of nine EU countries who will travel to Malta on Friday for summit talks expected to be dominated by the issue of migration.
Heads of government from southern EU states hope to find a common position on how to deal with the controversial issue amid a rise in the number of people crossing the Mediterranean to reach European shores.
This will be the first visit to Malta for Meloni, who recently said she would not allow Italy to become “Europe’s refugee camp” after 11,000 people arrived on the island of Lampedusa in a few days.
The MED9 summit will also discuss issues of human trafficking and organized crime at the European level.
This will be the first visit to Malta for Meloni, who recently said she would not allow Italy to become the “refugee camp of Europe” after 11,000 people arrived there. island of Lampedusa in a few days.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, will participate in the first part of the summit organized in Castile.
Other leaders participating in the discussions led by Prime Minister Robert Abela include the Croatian Prime Minister. Andrej PlenkovićCypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa and Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob.
Spain is the only delegation that will not send its head of government to the summit due to an upcoming vote in the Spanish Parliament that will require the presence of all its sitting deputies. The Spanish Secretary of State for the European Union, Pascual Ignacio Navarro Ríos, will represent the country during the negotiations.
A bilateral discussion The meeting between Meloni and Macron took place earlier this week in Rome, against the backdrop of the state funeral of former President Giorgio Napolitano, amid growing tensions over the responsibility of asylum seekers.
The Balkan countries present at the summit also seem interested in the evolution of the subject at the European level, especially as they continue to experience a significant increase in the number of asylum seekers following the invasion of Ukraine.
Other topics to discuss, such as climate change
The EU’s proposed new pact on migration and asylum, a set of updated rules and policies intended to define a common approach to migration in Europe, is also expected to be discussed among leaders, particularly at of the first sessions, to which Von der Leyen and Michel were invited to attend.
In recent years, Malta has signed various trade and other agreements with Tunisia and Libya, including the establishment of a Malta-Libya coordination center to tackle the migration problem. Abela has previously said that this model could be applied at the European level within the EU.
Other topics expected to be discussed include the mid-term review of the EU’s seven-year budget, climate change – particularly in the context of extreme weather events and natural disasters around the Mediterranean -, invasion of Ukraine and how to better ensure that sanctions are enforced. The economy, energy and fuel prices are not spared.
The group is also expected to discuss its participation in upcoming meetings in Spain and Brussels in the coming months and consolidate its positions on common topics, thus forming a de facto bloc at the negotiating table with the 27 EU member states .
Maintaining Malta’s connectivity with continental Europe
During these discussions, Malta is also expected to highlight the importance of maintaining the island’s connectivity with mainland Europe through air and sea routes, particularly with regard to access to essential medicines.
As a backdrop to the summit, several bilateral talks were expected yesterday evening between European leaders, notably between Malta and Croatia.
In June, Croatia was placed on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) gray list, making it the only EU country currently on the list. Malta was removed from the gray list just over a year ago.
Being placed on the gray list means that assessors and international bodies are subjecting the country to increased scrutiny.
Malta has reportedly offered technical assistance to Croatia on how it has approached reform to better combat financial crime.
The leaders are expected to pay courtesy calls to President George Vella throughout the summit.
The event will culminate with statements from each of the European leaders this evening in Mdina.