Brexit dominates EU Presidency trio talks

Informal talks between the Netherlands, Slovakia and Malta on EU Presidency focus on a potential UK exit

15 June 2016, 5:33pm
by Staff Reporter

1 min read

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat

A prospective UK exit from the European Union dominated talks held this afternoon among the Netherlands, Slovakia and Malta in an informal meeting of the EU Presidency trio.

The EU presidency is currently chaired by the Netherlands, followed by Slovakia whilst Malta will be taking over in January 2017.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat is currently in Bratislava to discuss the transition between the three EU member states. All three states agree that the United Kingdom should not leave the 28-member state bloc.

Turning to Malta’s priorities during its Presidency, Muscat said Malta is ready to take on sensitive issues such as migration and taxation.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico called for flexibility in the themes to be tackled by the respective presidencies. Fico went on to add that Slovakia will “tackle migration in view of the European Commission’s proposals”.