It is important for Malta that Italy has a strong role in Europe Malta’s Foreign Minister Michael Frendo at a meeting in Rome on Friday.

Dr Frendo also insisted that the countries in Europe’s south must work hard to ensure that the Mediterranean is kept at the centre of the EU’s considerations.

Dr Frendo was at a meeting, chaired by the Eurispes president Gian Maria Fara, with journalists at Link Campus.

Dr Frendo said Malta “has a Mediterranean vocation and it intends to implement it together with the other European countries of the region”.

As from last year, the Brussels Mediterranean agenda is set by the foreign ministers of the countries of the region at a meeting held in the first weeks of each presidency. Dr Frendo said the next meeting will discuss not just immigration but also security, energy, the future of Europe and the Middle East. The Middle East, he insisted, “is a challenge Europe must not lose”.

Malta has already proposed a meeting between the countries in the EU and those in the Arab League. This proposal was made to the Finnish presidency but nothing was done for time reasons. Now it has been made to the German presidency and Malta hopes this proposal will be acted upon this time, Dr Frendo said.

“We want to meet the Arab League not just to talk about Israel and Palestine but to bring about a real political dialogue on issues such as energy, climate change and democratic changes,” Dr Frendo said.

Malta has offered to be the place where such a meeting can be held.

The president of the Link Campus University of Malta and former Italian Minister of the Interior, Vincenzo Scotti, emphasised the intense collaboration between Italy and Malta in the process of integration of the south of Europe into the EU.

Dr Frendo was also reported by the Italian media to have spoken about Turkey and the EU. He expressed himself in favour of Turkey’s membership in the EU but with a reservation: “We ask for zero tolerance on human rights and democracy. This commitment must not be limited to the enacting of laws but also in their application.”

He also stressed how important finding a solution for the Cypriot problem in the negotiations with Ankara is.