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Roundup: Brexit, migration high on agenda for current EU presidency Trio

Xinhua, November 4, 2016 Adjust font size:

Migration and Brexit were high on the agenda when the Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte met with Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat here on Friday.

The meeting aimed to set the agenda ahead of Malta's European Union (EU) presidency. The three countries' 18-month EU presidency constitutes what is known as a presidency trio, starting with the Dutch presidency for the first six months of 2016. Malta will take over the presidency from Slovakia in January 2017 and conclude this trio's cycle at the end of June 2017.

The presidency trio had drawn up an 18-month agenda that prioritizes issues related to migration, growth, jobs, energy and security.

In a press conference Friday, the Dutch prime minister said that meaningful results have been achieved but there is still a long way to go, and in June 2017 the Maltese presidency will take full stock of the trio's set agenda.

Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico confirmed Friday's meeting centred around migration, which was high on the agenda and would be discussed further at the December summit in Brussels.

Asked about the part that Turkey plays in the influx of migrants coming to the EU, the Dutch prime minister said Turkey so far is delivering on its part of the agreement with the EU but the EU will continue to strive to work to better meet the needs of the refugees seeking asylum.

Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said discussions held Friday centered around migration and Brexit, and particular attention was also given to Slovakia's proposal on sharing the burden in relation to migrants coming to the EU.

Muscat praised Slovakia for being brave enough to come up with a proposal, despite there being diverging views amongst EU countries regarding the issue of migration.

He further stated that a proposal has to be made to deal with the issue of the safety of the refugees risking their lives to come to the EU, and that we appear to have become numb when faced with news about deaths of refugees in the Mediterranean.

When asked about Brexit, Muscat said that Malta would not intrude on Britain's triggering of Article 50 and that there was agreement amongst all 27 EU member countries that the single market's four freedoms could not be decoupled when negotiations on Britain's exit package get underway. Endit