Malta will host the summit of the Southern European countries in 2023
Malta will host the MED 9 summit, which brings together nine of the southern European Union leaders, the government announced on Saturday.
Besides Malta, the participating countries are France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece and Slovenia.
The leaders of the EU’s MED 9 countries met in Spain on Friday to discuss the EU’s proposed gas price cap.
Prime Minister Robert Abela said it would be an honor for Malta to host this summit in its tenth year.
During two meetings in Spain held on Friday, the leaders discussed energy and the economy.
“Our citizens and businesses deserve long-term and robust solutions,” said Abela.
Abela said that this was a clear message for the European Commission. He also spoke about the importance of connectivity between European networks.
“Speeding up investment in renewable energy is also crucial to reduce dependence on energy sources coming from outside the European Union,” said Abela.
He said that the consumer must continue to be supported and protected, which is the case in Malta since it has one of the lowest inflation rates in the EU.
Abela also spoke about the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Mediterranean which can be achieved if everyone works towards common interests, such as climate change, energy, peace, security and -immigration.
With reference to migration, he suggested that there should be a policy that could hinder human traffickers, but he still insisted that it would help the Libyan people.