Ms Helga Mizzi:

I thank members for their wide array of questions. I will start with the concept of citizens. As most members have pointed out, there is a long way between theory and implementing this concept on the street and reaching out to the grassroots. We see the Presidency as a possible tool to do just that. Apart from obvious concerns, such as security and making citizens feel more secure, we are thinking of broadening the concept to other areas such as the Single Market where we would like to work in a concrete manner to substantiate the assistance given to small and medium-sized enterprises, which in most of our countries are the backbone of economies, especially in countries like ours that are not based on multinationals per se. We will also do this through the concept of social inclusion. We will work hard at having the EU being more inclusive in its approach, primarily but not exclusively on gender matters. We think of these as grassroot issues that would, in one way or another, bring this monster or huge creation that is Brussels closer to the daily lives of citizens.

A valid point was made about free trade agreements. It is where the EU has registered a lot of success. It has managed to reach out to a lot of far-flung countries. We are closely following the negotiations that are taking place close to our region of the southern Mediterranean but also in faraway countries like Singapore that have promising potential. We would definitely not like to see a slowdown in momentum on that front.

In terms of the Commonwealth, Malta is the chair of the Commonwealth at present and a member of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group, CMAG. Malta hosted its second summit last November and its first summit in 2005. In so far as benefits to Malta are concerned, and they do not necessarily apply to an Irish scenario, we have managed to come up with concrete proposals in terms of small state concerns vis-à-vis climate change. We contributed to the climate change declaration that was adopted in Paris. Malta adopted its own climate change declaration in November. We have also contributed to a revitalisation of the Commonwealth institution. We were very glad to host the summit only a few months back.

The Irish situation has formed part of the latest high level meetings at both prime ministerial and foreign ministers level. We have heard the scenarios in great detail.

There is a growing understanding on the Maltese side of what the special agreement entails in terms of freedom of movement of persons. It is important that it prevails and that it is not hindered. I refer also to the very sensitive issue of the Good Friday Agreement. In so far as the Maltese understanding of the scenario goes, we are going straight to the source. Our Prime Minister was here only last week to hear the Irish concerns at the highest level. The committee can rest assured that this is very high on the agenda within the Brexit framework.

With regard to unity among 27 member states, there have not been any bilateral negotiations with the United Kingdom. As a Ministry, we are currently conducting an internal exercise with the United Kingdom that assesses the possible impacts, although we do not yet know what will be presented on the areas we deem to be of priority. These concern social affairs, the health sector and education. We have a number of tertiary level students pursuing their studies in the United Kingdom. Other priorities concern passports and the diaspora element. Right after the Brexit vote, we did hear some alarms sounding among other Community citizens in the United Kingdom. I cannot say there are phenomenal changes in the way they have been living their lives since June but there is an element of concern, of course, including in respect of tuition and studies. We will definitely be considering the interests of those in this category as a matter of priority. The figure we have in our records is that 80,000 citizens of Maltese origin are living in the United Kingdom. Of course, they all have a different history. Every generation has a very distinct history but we will be considering the position of the rather sizeable community as a matter of priority in the next few months.

We have not been engaged in high level bilateral negotiations with the United Kingdom. We are firm believers in the unity of the EU 27 and we do not believe there is any one country among the 27 that is currently questioning the concept. We intend to take that forward in our Presidency.

On defence, the Irish concerns are currently very close to ours in this domain. We have rather strict constitutional obligations back home that we tend to safeguard at every step and with every move forward taken in this respect. As the committee knows, the global strategy launched in July focuses on soft security and hard security, but also defence. We have no issue with the soft security and hard security aspects of that vision, which we support fully, but we will be monitoring developments concerning the strict defence aspects very closely to ensure the safeguards are in line with treaty obligations in terms of recognition of constitutional obligations of individual member states and to ensure a distinction is maintained between a close partner to the European Union, such as NATO, and the EU common security and defence policy, CSDP, operations themselves. This is a very important dossier. This development is relatively new, dating from July. It came at a very sensitive moment for the European Union. It was launched barely four or five days after the results of the Brexit referendum were known. We are very hopeful about its success.

With regard to passports, I do not believe anything has changed thus far. Those eligible to hold a Maltese passport by way of relation still have an automatic right to one. I do not believe we will be encountering any major shifts in the present policy as it stands. I refer to the general approach we are taking on diaspora matters. There is a sizeable Maltese expatriate community in the United Kingdom. Most would regard Malta as a place of retirement. Malta has a large number of tourists from the United Kingdom and vice versa. The United Kingdom is the most popular country among outgoing tourists. The links on a people-to-people level are very visible and tangible.