The year 2017 will be a very important one for the EPP Group, the EP Party and the Nationalist Party as Malta will be hosting the European Peoples' Party congress during that year.

This is an event of great importance and of high prestige, with many other countries having expressed the wish to host both Group and Party. The congress is the highest decision making body of the party, not only choosing its leaders but also the line of thinking and the policies that the members should pursue. Only twenty one meetings have been organized since 1978 thus increasing the prestige of such gatherings.

The vast majority of these congresses have been held in the so called old bloc of member states and this highlights the trust that the EPP has in our country, our leader and our team working in Brussels.

Securing the organization of such an event was not an easy task especially when taking into consideration the fact that other larger countries were also lobbying to organize the event themselves.

We worked diligently and with determination presented our cause to the EPP. It was a great team effort led by Dr Busuttil, and I would like to publicly thank all those who contributed in our effort to ensure that our bid was a success especially my colleagues and fellow MEP's Dr Roberta Metsola and Dr Therese Commodini Cachia, our international secretary Dr Trevor Degiorgio, and other member of our team including Angelito Sciberras, Amanda Said, David Stellini and Andrew Formosa.

Our hard work paid off thanks to their incessant effort and it now leaves us with a greater challenge ahead, that of ensuring that the event is a successful one, not only logistically but more importantly politically.

After the EPP study days held here in the summer of 2007 and the group bureau held here in 2012, organizing the Congress will be a very big challenge for our team especially when considering the fact that this event will be held on a much larger scale than the previous two events.

The congress will be attended by leaders from all over Europe together with MEPs from our group, advisors, interpreters and journalists. It will be a melting pot of ideas that will provide the way forward to the largest group in the European Parliament.

Besides its political importance it is also a logistical challenge but I have no doubts that we will rise to meet this challenge like we have done on previous occasions and once again offer those present an experience that they will cherish.

The 2017 Congress will deal and discuss problems that are affecting Europe and its security particularly the influx of immigration, the mobility of workers and the way forward after the financial crisis and the economic collapse.

It will also give particular and close attention to the Mediterranean region and the countries within this region which obviously includes Malta.

Events like this highlight the importance of belonging to such an important Union as the EU and the advantages of forming part of the largest European Party - the EPP.

Notwithstanding the fact that we are the smallest country in the European Union, we still manage to make our voices heard in all the important fora, and this shows how wrong the Eurosceptics were when they preached about the Europe of Cain and the Europe of Abel. The Nationalist Party has always believed that Malta's place is in Europe, because it is the best place to guarantee the well being of our citizens, financial stability and economic growth.

Unlike others in this country, we never let our size make us feel inferior, on the contrary we used it to our advantage to secure the best for our islands. Europe and in particular the EPP has once again repaid the trust we have shown and I truly believe that by making Malta the choice for the 2017 congress, the EPP made a clear statement saying that we are all equals and that every voice no matter how small counts and will be listened to.

We look forward to the congress, but until then we still have a lot of work to do in the European Parliament to bring the best for Malta as we always did and in Malta to make the Nationalist Party the party of the people once again.

The task is very challenging but we truly believe that we can make it, that we are right alternative for this country. Just as the EPP listened to us, we are listening to you, whatever you have to say.