Slovakia took over the European Union’s presidency on Friday, determined to help reconnect the EU with its citizens and put decision-making back in the hands of Europe’s nations as the bloc reels from the UK’s vote to leave.
The beginning of Slovakia’s six-month presidency also marks the beginning of the six-month countdown before Malta, the EU’s smallest country, takes the helm – for anywhere between six and 12 months.
Unveiling Slovakia’s plans for the next six months, Prime Minister Robert Fico said the EU’s migration policy does not work and Europe has failed to properly communicate with its citizens.
The onus of handling the UK’s exit from the bloc will rest with Malta, which assumes the presidency on 1 January.
But in the wake of the UK’s Brexit referendum vote, it is still unclear what the duration of Malta’s EU presidency will be – the scheduled six months, nine months – or even a full year.
This is because Malta’s presidency was supposed to be followed by that of the UK which, obviously, will be ruled out from holding the EU presidency given its imminent parting of the ways with the bloc. With the UK out of the July-December 2017 presidency equation, there are a few options regarding the length of Malta’s EU presidency.
One option would see Malta absorbing the UK’s six-month term and serving as EU President for a full year. Another would be to move the whole rotating schedule ahead by six months, meaning that Estonia would assume the presidency on 1 July 2017 instead of the UK. And a third, option would see Malta and Estonia sharing the UK’s presidency by taking on an extra three months each.
Speaking this week in the wake of an EU summit largely dominated by Brexit talks, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat confirmed that discussions related to the UK’s EU Presidency had been held.
He commented in Brussels: “We made our position clear, that it is preferable for Estonia to take over early. There are those who would ask why we wouldn’t take the Presidency for a year, and the answer is that it takes a toll on the country. This will be the first time that Malta will be President and it is a strain on our resources.”
He stressed that the Presidency is an operational and political challenge and that Malta’s resources will be stretched. On the other hand, he said it would be no joke for Estonia to take over six months early. To extend Malta’s term, he said, would cost the country millions of euros.