Informal meeting of Heads of State and Government of the European Union in Malta

The Malta Summit is the continuation of the Summit of the 27 States held in Bratislava on 15 and 16 September 2016 (the United Kingdom did not take part on that occasion), which marked the start of a process of reflection on the future of the European Union following the British referendum on 23 June. This process of reflection is due to culminate at the Rome Summit, which will take place on 25 March.

In preparation for the meeting in Malta, a Summit of Southern Countries of the European Union was held in Lisbon on 28 January, at which the Heads of State and Government of the seven participating countries adopted a declaration. The President of the Government announced at a press briefing following the Lisbon Summit that the next summit under this format would take place in Spain in April.

The meetings in Malta will be used to discuss the external dimension of migration, with particular focus on the Central Mediterranean route and on Libya, monitoring of the conclusions of recent European Councils and citizen communication, international issues and a debate will be held on the future of the 27 member European Union with a view to the Rome Summit.

The European Union has been designed as a first class economic bloc, which has a Gross Domestic Product that sits atop the global ranking and a trading dynamism that has turned it into the leading commercial power in the world. It has also consolidated a social model and Welfare State that is unrivalled around the world, both in terms of the coverage provided by its pension systems, and its public health and education services.

In Malta, the leaders will debate the challenges facing the European project, such as the need to bed down economic recovery, extend Economic and Monetary Union, and make progress on the common market, as well as on the reforms to be pushed through to guarantee that the European Union and the Euro remain a source of prosperity for all its citizens.