Brexit will form an important backdrop during Malta’s EU Presidency next year but will not dominate its policy work, Parliamentary Secretary Ian Borg said today.

He was speaking at the Pre-Presidency Conference organized by The Trans European Policy Studies Association (TEPSA) at the Old University Building in Valletta.

Dr Borg said the main issues that will be dominating Malta’s Presidency are built around Neighbourhood policy, Security, Migration, Maritime, Internal Market and Social Inclusion. Borg also mentioned youth and education as a cross-cutting theme across all the priority areas of this current Trio Presidency, in conjuction with the Dutch and Slovak counterparts.

“It is these young people, all over Europe, who will support and shape the future of the Union in the coming years,” Parliamentary Secretary Borg said.

He stressed that the Presidency offers an extraordinary opportunity to make our voice heard and to gain credibility for the EU by communicating openly and honestly, whilst also finding new ways of promoting the positive difference that decisions taken in Brussels can make to people’s lives.