For Malta, the EU’s smallest country with a population of around 420,000, its first shot at the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU was pitched as the island’s coming-out ceremony. For smaller member countries, the presidency is as an extended advertising campaign, giving airtime to a country normally barely on the radar of the world’s media.
But with potential calamity never far from the door in the form of Brexit, the migration crisis and other problems, the presidency also has a vital diplomatic role — brokering agreement among 28 nations with often wildly differing agendas. At times, cat-herding looks …read more
Source: European Voice
