On the 28 June a Presidency Handover ceremony was held
at the Embassy in the Hague with the presence of the Heads of Mission of EU
Member States, candidate countries, EU agencies, and officials from the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. The ceremony was held for the first time
in the Hague and a commemorative plaque was prepared by Embassy for the
occasion and features the flags of the EU and the Netherlands. The plaque was
presented to the Estonian Ambassador as a symbol of the EU Presidency that will
be handed over to successive rotating Presidencies, with the hope that this
tradition will continue in the coming years.
During the ceremony Ambassador Cole highlighted the
main achievements of the Maltese Presidency, particularly the end of roaming
charges, the Malta declaration on the external aspects of Migration and the
adoption of the Regulation on visa liberalisation for neighbouring Ukrainian
citizens. It was a very eventful six months with elections taking place in
France, UK and particularly the Netherlands. Moreover the EU agenda included
preparations for Brexit negotiations, reflections on the future of the EU and
dealing with a future-proof migration agreement. It was also an occasion for
the Estonian Ambassador to provide a preview of the priorities that the
Estonian Presidency will pursue in the coming 6 months.


