Malta
will continue to pursue active and effective participation in the European
Union's decision-making processes raising its profile, relevance and
credibility.
Malta
will proactively participate in European Union decisions, policy and law-making.
Malta will continue to ensure that important matters of national interest are
raised high on the European Union Agenda while continuing to be a team-player in
the day-to-day construction of a strong European Union built on a culture of
consensus and compromise.
In this context, "Forum Malta fl-Ewropa" will act as a
point of reference on EU-Malta relations for civil society and for citizens,
serving also as government's consultative mechanism with civil society on
EU-related issues and a platform to discuss new ideas and initiatives with the
aim of bringing the European Union closer to its citizens on the national level.
The Forum will also offer support to civil society and citizens in relation to
access to EU funding mechanisms and programmes seeking a wider tapping of these
new resources.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue its
engagement with regard to financial perspectives and to the continued
flexibility of use of financial resources, particularly for newly-acceded
states, and to the reform of the EU budgetary structure, and to the
consideration of Malta's specificities arising from its island status and
peripherality.
Malta
will closely support future enlargement of the European Union within the
parameters set by the Treaties, the Copenhagen criteria and in accordance with
an appropriate pace of successful absorption in the interests of a strong,
well-integrated European Union and peace and stability in
Europe.
In this regard, subject to these considerations, Malta
views the further enlargement of the Union as an impetus for the creation of a
wider European area of peace, stability, democracy and human rights dedicated to
the prosperity of its peoples in a spirit of solidarity.
Malta
supports the European Union as a promoter of peace and cooperation. This is the
case with regards to the framework for wider cooperation provided by the
European Neighbourhood Policy and the Strategic Partnership for the
Mediterranean and the Middle East. It will continue to give its active and
dynamic contribution to the success of these policies.
The expansion of political rights and political
participation is an essential dimension of the broader strategy to combat
extremism in its different manifestations around the world. Malta welcomes the
intensifying transatlantic engagement and, especially in the Middle East,
believes such partnership as crucial for achieving peace, stability and
home-grown economic, social and political reform in the
region.
Malta
will further European Union cooperation with the African Union and support
developments that will further reinforce the many peace-keeping, humanitarian
relief and reconciliation efforts currently under way in many parts of the
African continent. Malta will also work towards an enhanced relationship between
the European Union and the Arab League, promoting that dialogue in the common
interest of all parties. Malta is committed to a successful European Union and
considers this to be also a measure of its own success.