The members of MEUSAC’s Core Group will be meeting today for the first time since the election of the new government and the appointment of Dr Helena Dalli as Minister for Social Dialogue, Consumer Affairs and Civil Liberties. Minister Dalli chairs the Core Group. This will not be the regular monthly meeting but an extraordinary joint MEUSAC - MCESD meeting with the Minister of Finance, Prof. Edward Scicluna. The Government is currently finalising the drafting of the National Reform Programme (NRP). The submission of the NRP to the European Commission is part of the European Semester, an annual cycle of economic and fiscal policy coordination within the European Union established in 2010 for stronger economic governance and better policy coordination between the EU Member States. The focus of the Semester is, as its name implies, on the six-month period from the beginning of each year.

In a nutshell, a clear timetable has been set out according to which the Member States receive guidance at the EU level and then submit their policy plans to the European Commission in the form of national reform programmes and stability or convergence programmes. The programmes are then assessed at the EU level and Member States are given individual country-specific recommendations (CSR) addressing their national budgetary and reform policies. These recommendations are drafted by the European Commission and presented to the EU Council (bringing together ministers from all the Member States) that must agree on the final CSR before being presented to the European Council (Heads of State or Government) in June for endorsement. The recommendations are formally adopted by the EU Council in July following which the Member States are invited to implement them by taking them into account when drafting their budget for the next year.

Malta will be submitting its third NRP that is expected to set out several new and updated policy proposals that address the latest set of CSR for Malta as well as the priorities and targets of the Europe 2020 Strategy - the EU strategy for a smart, sustainable and inclusive economy. Key areas to be addressed are employment, research and development, energy, education and the reduction of poverty. The document will also include Malta’s new Euro Plus commitments for 2013. The Euro Plus Pact is a plan whereby Member States make concrete commitments for reforms intended to improve fiscal strength, employment and competitiveness. The choice of the specific policy actions necessary to achieve the common objectives of the Pact is the responsibility of each country that must annually commit to a set of concrete actions to be achieved within 12 months.

Minister Scicluna will this morning present the NRP public consultation document to MEUSAC and MCESD members and engage in a discussion with members on the document with the aim being that of finalising the NRP and submitting it to the European Commission by the end of the month.

Apart from its new chairperson, the Core Group will see some other changes in its composition following an invitation by Minister Dalli to member organisations to indicate the names of their members and substitute members. Most organisations have opted to retain either or both though there will be at least seven new faces. Although the composition of the Core Group and of the MCESD Council is similar, one significant difference is that the political parties are also represented on the Core Group. In my view this contributes to a greater national convergence on EU issues as well as providing a forum where all three political parties can meet and discuss with representatives of the constituted bodies and civil society.

The cycle of regular monthly meetings will be resumed next week when the Core Group is expected to discuss the European Commission’s Green Paper entitled “A 2030 framework for climate and energy policies” (COM(2013) 169 final) published on 27 March 2013. The objective of this Paper is to launch a debate on a 2030 framework for climate and energy policies. On May 4, MEUSAC will then be joining forces with the Ministry for European Affairs and the Ministry for Social Dialogue, Consumer Affairs and Civil Liberties to organise a public dialogue to mark the ninth anniversary of Malta’s accession to the EU, Europe Day and the European Year of Citizens. This will be open to the general public and anyone interested in participating may find more information on our website - http://www.meusac.gov.mt/upcomingevents or by calling 2200 3300.