https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/52162 2026-04-11T14:18:25Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/96650 Title: Malta's EU Presidency : a study in a small state presidency of the Council of the EU Authors: Harwood, Mark; Moncada, Stefano; Pace, Roderick Abstract: Malta assumed the Presidency of the Council of the EU in January 2017 with a list of priorities ranging from migration to social inclusion, security to the single market. In addition to the challenge the Presidency represents for any Member State, small states are particularly ‘stretched’ in meeting the myriad commitments the presidency involves. Therefore, from the outset, Malta’s Presidency represented a challenge for the Government and Public Service. In addition, Malta was also faced with several ‘external’ challenges beyond its control but which had the potential to complicate its task at the helm of the Council, including elections in key member states, the formal launch of the BREXIT process and the inauguration of the Trump administration in America; as Malta entered 2017 it truly found itself in the proverbial ‘eye of the storm’. After completing its Presidency the consensus in Malta and abroad was that the EU’s smallest state had scored highly in delivering on its priorities and that it had been a success. This book represents the first academic assessment of the Presidency and reflects the Institute for European Studies’ commitment to contributing to the body of academic knowledge on Malta and the European Union. 2018-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/96649 Title: Introduction : a successful small country presidency Abstract: Malta assumed the presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2017, almost 13 years after joining the Union. The Institute for European Studies of the University of Malta thought that it would be appropriate to assess some of the aspects of this presidency and to do so from a small state perspective. To set the basic conceptual context, it is important to highlight what Anders Wivel observes in his chapter to this volume, that lacking the resources to pursue power politics, small states have to rely on their diplomatic resources. Since the presidency’s main role is that of an “honest broker”, requiring untiring efforts to achieve concord between the member states on often difficult and divisive dossiers, it calls for attentive and patient diplomacy, an approach that fits well with a small state’s preferred methods in world politics. The resources of small states are inherently limited in many aspects: fewer information sources, a small pool of personnel qualified to take part in the Presidency’s work, including in-depth analysis of the issues on the table and, ultimately, restricted financial resources. At the start of the Presidency, Malta’s Minister of Finance was reported to have told journalists that the financial provisions to cover the Presidency’s expenditure had been set aside in two tranches in two annual budgets approved by Parliament. Notwithstanding these drawbacks, at the end of the Presidency Politico was able to report that Malta had been praised for its diplomatic prowess in managing to broker agreement on a range of issues. This is not a small achievement by the EU’s smallest member state. [excerpt] 2018-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/96648 Title: Maximizing influence by leading the Council : smart state strategies for small state presidencies Authors: Wivel, Anders Abstract: How does a small state maximize their influence when leading the Council? This chapter argues that small states need to prioritize goals and means, network and accept their relative lack of power as the point of departure for their diplomatic efforts if they are to maximize influence when holding the Council presidency. A small state lacks relative and absolute capabilities and is by definition “the weaker part in an asymmetric relationship, which is unable to change the nature or functioning of the relationship on its own”. Small states “are not in command of power resources sufficient to pursue dominant power politics”. Consequently small states rely on diplomatic means of influence and persuasion. They seek to affect or change events or policies in their external environment by use of diplomatic tools for achieving political objectives. [excerpt] Description: Chapter 1 2018-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/96562 Title: EU migration and asylum in the aftermath of the 2016 migration crisis Authors: Fernandez, Berta; Lilleorg, Kristiina Abstract: The European Union (EU) initiatives aimed at regulating migration have recently enjoyed relatively broad and quick support by EU Member States (EUMS), while the facilitation of migration has been selective and either addressing few targeted countries, or small categories of migrants travelling to the EU – the most qualified ones. Migrants in vulnerable situations with specific protection needs and/or asylum-seekers requesting international protection – seeking access to the EU – are still awaiting legislative and policy reforms addressing their needs. Significant progress was made during the Maltese Presidency towards reaching agreement among EUMS on the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) reform. However, the package of seven instruments and the key issues they seek to address remain work in much-needed progress. Given the 2016 ongoing migration flows to the EU via the Central Mediterranean route, the Maltese Presidency started with a clear determination to reduce arrivals from Libya and save lives, as well as to break the business model of smugglers along the route as stipulated in the European Agenda on Migration. A vivid sense of urgency to increase return rates and uphold the credibility of asylum systems was felt by EUMS and the Commission alike. The new return policy package was released in March 2017, paving the way for a future revision of the Return Directive, with a view to building a Common European Return System (CERS). On the external front, making development aid contingent on cooperation on returns and readmission in the Migration Partnership Framework approach has been questioned by the European Parliament (EP) and others, arguing it represents a contradiction with aid effectiveness principles which for this reason risk losing ownership and engagement of partner countries. [excerpt] Description: Chapter 2 2018-01-01T00:00:00Z