Prime Minister Joseph Muscat is joined by leaders from 26 other member states in Brussels today, as they discuss Brexit, Britain's EU Presidency and the way ahead for Europe in terms of connecting with EU citizens.
The meeting is being held without the UK. Yesterday, an official EU Council meeting took place, and the United Kingdom told member states that it needs time before taking any decisions on its relationship with the EU, choosing to wait until a new British Prime Minister is chosen next September.
This, however, was not to the liking of a number of EU leaders and EU officials, who believed that a quick Brexit is the way forward to quell uncertainty in the financial markets. However indications show that EU leaders showed some convergence towards accepting the need for Britain to wait for a new leader before Britain takes any EU decisions. This was also said by Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.
International reports have read that David Cameron said that if the EU wants Britain in the single market, they would need to reform the freedom of movement rules. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said yesterday that if Britain wants into the single market, then it would need to accept all four freedoms, including freedom of movement. This shows a clear divergence of opinion between the EU leaders and Britain, and is likely to prove to be the major bone of contention between the two.