The appointment of the new Commission President, Josè Manuel Durao Barroso, was discussed at the meeting. This appointment needs to be approved by the European Parliament in a vote that will take place on Tuesday 22 July in a plenary session in Strasbourg. Maltese MEPs will be able to vote for the first time on this occasion.

Mr Barroso is a member of the EPP and has the strong backing of the group. The EPP had made it clear that as the largest political group in the European Parliament it expected the new Commission President to be selected from its own political family.

The meeting also discussed the participation of the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) in the 20 different committees of the European Parliament, each dealing with different subjects. Each MEP may participate in up to two committees. However, this will now be extended in certain cases. In an intervention on this point, Dr Busuttil stressed that MEPs should have the option to participate in more than two committees. This, he said, was particularly important for small countries to ensure that they could be represented in as many parliamentary committees as possible.

In addition, each MEP will also be able to participate in a parliamentary delegation set up to focus on relations with different non-EU countries.

Separately, Dr Busuttil also held meetings with high officials in the EPP and with other heads of delegations in order to seek support so that the five Maltese MEPs – both from the PN (EPP) and the MLP (PES) – would be able to participate in the committees that are most important for Malta. These include the committees relating to budget, regional policy, economic and monetary affairs and the environment. The final decision on the composition of the different committees will be taken in Strasbourg on 22 and 23 July.