Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/595929
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 4 NOVEMBER 2015 3 News For trade enquiries phone 2138 2741 INGA BOISSEVAIN'S NOVEL OUT THIS WEEK Government mulling Schengen suspension HOME affairs minister Carmelo Abela yesterday confirmed that government is in the process of suspending the Schengen agree- ment the Valletta Migration Sum- mit, to be held between the 11 and 12 November, and the Com- monwealth Heads of Government Meeting, between 27 and 29 No- vember. However, Abela denied reports that appeared on the Times which said the suspension would come into effect as of today. Reacting to news of the suspen- sion published on various news ports, the government said that it hadn't yet made an official deci- sion and that it was in talks with EU authorities. "The decision whether or not to suspend the agreement, which allows for passport-free transit between member countries, must first be considered even on a Euro- pean level," the statement adds. The government added that it would publish official statements and details about the arrangement later on. Joseph Muscat meets Dubai royalty PRIME minister Joseph Muscat yesterday met with Vice President of the United Arab Emirates and Emir of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Muscat, in Dubai selling Maltese citizenship at Henley & Partners' 9th Global Residence and Citizen- ship Conference, met the Emir at the Zabeel Palace to discuss rela- tions between the two countries and opportunities for cooperation and investment, as well as current affairs of international importance. Muscat arrived in the Gulf on Monday, marking another 'venue' in his global roadshow selling Schengen passports for Henley & Partners. Muscat's pitch to his audience was to extol the virtues of Malta's economy and to promote the Indi- vidual Investor Programme as no money quick-fix for the country but "to access only the best talent and investment to Malta which would otherwise not have been ac- cessible." "Our citizenship by investment is tight, capped at 1,800 applicants, and has the most rigorous due dili- gence, because we are only after the best talent and investors." He belted out the positives of the Maltese economy: fastest-growing at 5.1 per cent, a deficit at 1.6% of the GDP, reduced energy tariffs, in- come tax cuts, universal childcare, and increased budgets on educa- tion and healthcare. European Council to hold informal meeting in Malta next week MIRIAM DALLI THE leaders of the European Union have been asked to ex- tend their stay in Malta in order to hold an informal meeting on the island, right after the Valletta Summit is concluded. European Council President Donald Tusk has invited the heads of state and government to an informal meeting of the European Council next week in Malta. Announced in April, the Vallet- ta Summit was called in a bid "to forge a real Euro-African part- nership" on migration. Meetings of the European Council are usu- ally held in Brussels. In a letter issued yesterday to the EU leaders, Tusk explained that the situation remained very serious and migratory f low con- tinued at an unprecedented pace. In October, Europe saw a record level of 218,000 refugees and mi- grants crossing the Mediterra- nean. Meetings in September and Oc- tober set orientations in develop- ing a comprehensive European response to the migration crisis and led to some positive results. "Faced with such a migratory wave, some EU states have been introducing different measures at internal Schengen borders. As I have warned before, the only way not to dismantle Schengen is to ensure proper management of EU external borders," Tusk told the leaders in his invitation let- ter. "We must do all we can to keep Schengen intact and so any ini- tiative that may lead to the re- establishment of borders within Schengen should be withheld. If we are to avoid the worst we must speed up our actions. This is why I have decided to call an informal meeting of EU Heads of State or Government, to be held just after the Valletta Summit, on 12 No- vember at 14.30." The purpose of this meeting will primarily be to assess the state of implementation of the measures decided so far, notably as regards stepping up coopera- tion with third countries, includ- ing Turkey, in order to stem the f lows. Other decisions include imple- menting the decisions taken on relocation; setting up hotspots in Greece and Italy, as well as rein- forcing reception capacities and providing FRONTEX and EASO with the required additional ex- pertise and discuss how to ef- fectively reinforce the control of external borders. "Given the speed at which events are developing, it is essential for all of us to have up-to-date infor- mation. I therefore welcome the initiatives taken by the Luxem- bourg Presidency to activate the EU's Integrated Political Crisis Response arrangements and to convene an extraordinary Justice and Home Affairs Council on 9 November, which should usefully inform our discussions in Vallet- ta," the Council President added. "While we will come back to the issue of migration at our regular meeting in December, I do not exclude that we would need to set further orientations already in Valletta. I will keep you informed in the run-up to our meeting." The absolute majority of EU heads of state and government have confirmed their attendance to the Valletta Summit