Wednesday 11 January: the College travels to Valetta to meet the Maltese presidency of the Council

The news:

On 11 January, the College of Commissioners is travelling to Valetta for its traditional visit to the incoming presidency of the Council of the European Union, which in the first semester of 2017 will be held by Malta.

President Juncker and the College Members will engage in discussions with the Maltese Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Muscat, on the challenges and priorities for the EU in the upcoming six months. Particular emphasis will be put on migration and security issues, the Single Market, social inclusion, Europe's neighbourhood, the Mediterranean and the maritime sector. The Commission will also meet with Members of the House of Representatives - the Maltese Parliament.

The background:

Twice a year, the College of Commissioners travels to the Member State that holds the presidency of the Council of the EU, in order to discuss the EU's priorities of the next six-month period with the Member State's government. From 1 January 2017, Malta will hold the presidency of the Council of the EU for the first time, as a part of the current presidency trio together with the Netherlands (January-June 2016) and Slovakia (July-December 2016). The next trio, as from July 2017, will be made up of the presidencies of Estonia, Bulgaria and Austria.

The event:

11 January 2017: visit of the College of Commissioners to Valetta. A press conference with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat will be held on Wednesday 11 January at 2:15pm. Available on EBS.

The sources:

Website of the Maltese presidency of the Council of the EU: http://www.eu2017.mt

Background info on the site of the Council of the EU: http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/council-eu/presidency-council-eu/

AGENDA/16/4486