Yesterday, President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani paid a courtesy visit to Speaker Anġlu Farrugia. This visit took place two days after both dignitaries had together opened the Inter-parliamentary Conference on Stability, Economic Governance and Coordination which was co-organised in Brussels between the Maltese House of Representatives and the European Parliament within the framework of the parliamentary dimension of the Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

In a brief meeting the two spoke of the excellent relations that exist between the Maltese Parliament and the European Parliament, both at the political and administrative level. 

Speaker Anġlu Farrugia thanked President Tajani for the assistance and cooperation extended by the European Parliament in the run-up to the Inter-parliamentary Conference on Stability, Economic Governance and Coordination which took place on 31 January and 1 February 2017, and said that the Maltese Parliament is counting on the extension of this cooperation between the two institutions as preparations for the Inter-parliamentary Conference on the CFSP/CSDP are progressing steadily. 

During the meeting Farrugia recalled the visit by the Conference of Presidents led by former EP President Martin Schulz, when Schulz remarked that the large turnout of Members of Parliament to meet at the Conference was unprecedented and encouraging. The Speaker also referred to a proposal for a pilot project between parliaments of small Member States to evaluate the effect of EU legislation on small states. 

EP President Antonio Tajani thanked the Speaker of the House of Representatives for receiving him and reiterated the pledge that Malta and the Maltese Parliament can always count on the support of the European Parliament on issues which are of a priority for Malta, such as in the area of irregular migration and the Mediterranean. President Tajani took note of a proposal by the Speaker regarding a pilot project for small states and remarked that it deserved further consideration.

After the meeting Speaker Farrugia accompanied President Tajani on a tour of the Parliament building  which was inaugurated on 4 May 2015, which tour included the basement of the building which is earmarked to house the Parliament’s archive and a library in order to further facilitate access of parliamentary documents to the public. President Tajani expressed his interest in the project and also remarked that the current digitalisation project being undertaken by the European Parliament could prove useful for the Maltese Parliament.

During the visit President Tajani was accompanied by Secretary General of the European Parliament Klaus Welle, and Peter Agius, who will be leaving his post as Head of the European Parliament Office in Malta to join the Cabinet of the President of the European Parliament.​