During a bilateral meeting on Monday 16 January, as part of the launch of the Maltese Presidency of the Council of the EU, the President of the Committee of the Regions (CoR) and the Maltese Prime Minister appeared to share a large number of common objectives on subjects such as immigration, maritime policy and even social policy.
CoR President, Markku Markkula, therefore welcomes the Maltese Presidency’s priorities, particularly those on immigration and maritime policy. This latter point was also welcomed by the Conference of Peripheral and Maritime Regions (see EUROPE 11698).
Another important point for the committee involved the evident wish of the Maltese Prime Minister to put the project for a “Social Europe” back on the table. The Maltese Prime Minister, Joseph Muscat, stated, “The Maltese Presidency and the European Committee of the Regions share a vision to put the concept of social Europe back on the agenda. Our commitment is to keep an open channel of communication with this important European institution".
One European source confirmed the CoR’s expectations from this rotating presidency and welcomed the position given to social policy and territorial cohesion, including the emphasis on the islands and remote regions. There is no doubt that the social question will be very much part of the CoR’s agenda over the next few months, particularly because according to our information the Committee’s next representative is likely to be the current First Vice President of the CoR, social democrat, Karl-Heinz Lambertz (PES, Belgium).
The next six months will be crucial for the future of cohesion policy, with the high point involving a forum on post-2020 cohesion policy at the end of June (see EUROPE 11662). In this context, the Maltese Presidency is expected to play a key role, following on the lines of the Polish Presidency in 2011, which was very active during the first debates on 2014-20 cohesion policy.
The Maltese Presidency, by way of Ian Borg, the Parliamentary Secretary for European Funds, will explain its programme and priorities during the plenary session on 8-9 February next. A CoR external bureau meeting will be held in Malta on 22 February for meeting members of the Maltese government. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)