Malta takes over the presidency of the Council of the EU
From 1 January to 30 June 2017, Malta will hold the presidency of the Council of the EU. The presidency will focus on 6 key areas: migration, single market, security, social inclusion, Europe's neighbourhood and maritime sector.
The priorities of the Maltese presidency are driven by the objective to restore trust in the EU, need for a dialogue and reflection on the EU's future as well as the pertinent issues relating to migration, security and economy.
Regarding migration, the main objectives of the Maltese presidency are:
- Strengthening and streamlining the Common European Asylum System in order to distribute the migration load among Member States more fairly;
- Within this, attempts to revise the Dublin Regulation which delineates Member States' responsabilities for examining asylum applications, will be key;
- Transforming the European Asylum Support Office into a fully-fledged European agency;
- As the two-year period for the relocation of 160,000 people in need of international protection gets closer, ensure a better implementation;
- Pushing for a holistic approach to migration, including both the internal and external aspect (e.g. follow up on the Valletta Summit on Migration).
Further information is available on the website of the Maltese Presidency.