[WATCH] Malta 'well positioned' to be a broker in Brexit negotiations

Malta ‘well positioned’ to be a broker in Brexit negotiations - Muscat

Malta may very well be the broker in the exit negotiations between the United Kingdom and the European Union, part of which will take place during Malta’s rotating Presidency of the European Council.

Although the UK has yet to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, outgoing British Prime Minister David Cameron said it would be up to his successor to kick start the process and negotiate the exit agreement.

“We are very well positioned and trusted by both sides,” Prime Minister Joseph Muscat told MaltaToday, ahead of a dinner between the 27 EU leaders and Cameron.

“Our commitment to the European project is clear and we are very clear in that any arrangement the UK can have with Europe needs to be an inferior arrangement to EU membership.”

Explaining the role which Malta – a former British colony and the current Commonwealth chair-in-office – could have in the discussions, Muscat said the government understood the British position “and we are ideally placed to see that any progress that can be achieved during our Presidency is tangible progress”.

Malta takes over the EU Presidency in January, with the aim of delivering a European Union which is closer and more sensitive of its citizens’ concerns.

“It is a matter of attitude: we will not come out with too many proposals that are high in the air but, for example, try to implement the single market when it comes to the services sector.”

The 27 EU leaders are meeting this morning to discuss the future of the EU without the UK.

Since the UK voted by 52% to leave the EU, Muscat has been very wary in calling on Britain to activate Article 50, starting the exit process, compared to the Brussels elite, who have been calling on the UK to start the process as soon as possible.

“It is disappointing that, when we are faced with the biggest crisis, what’s grabbing the headlines is the obscure Article 50,” Muscat said upon his arrival at the European Council in Brussels.

“Despite the technical aspects, I think there are other major issues. This is a Europe which the people are feeling increasingly estranged from and it is our duty to take action. Maybe the first ever decision to leave the Union can be blamed on others… if there is a second country, we will have only ourselves to blame.” 

Once Article 50 is invoked, it is understood that the European Commission will be leading the negotiations with a mandate from the Council.

Countries like Germany, France and Italy are more impatient and want an immediate start to the exit process.

“I agree with David Cameron’s position and it is the new prime minister who should decide what relationship the UK wants with the EU. There are certain countries showing impatience because of their own national political realities and the message they’re trying to send back home.”

It was also time for the EU to do some soul-searching, Muscat added, warning against adopting “a condescending tone” against those who favoured the Leave vote.

“We need to understand their motivation … leaving was wrong but motivations are quite understandable.”

The argument made by those favouring a quick Brexit is one of prevailing uncertainty – an argument being rejected by Muscat.

“I don’t think there is growing uncertainty… people know exactly what’s coming next in terms of the political and technical aspects. I am more interested in the solutions to make Europe work in a better manner.”

The UK has lost its top AAA credit rating from ratings agency S&P, which argues that the result could lead to “a deterioration of the UK’s economic performance, including its large financial services sector”. Fitch lowered its rating from AA+ to AA, forecasting an “abrupt slowdown” in growth in the short-term.

The Prime Minister however argued that uncertainty would prevail if “something worse were to happen”.

“Markets are assuming Brexit has happened and that markets won’t have access to the Single Market,” he said, warning that there would be a big price to pay if the new British leaders wanted to access the single market.

The single market comes with four freedoms, including the freedom of movement. “It means that the main motivation for the Leave vote – which was migration control and taking back control on borders – falls through; it would have meant that all this was done to have an inferior level of relationship with Europe with absolutely no control.”