Maltese Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Promotion visits the EUI

The Honorable Carmelo Abela, Maltese Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Promotion, visited the EUI on Monday, 9 September along with Maltese Ambassador to Italy Vanessa Frazier and Mr. Luca Parenti, the Honorary Consul of Malta in Florence.

Malta joined the EUI as a contracting state in June of 2018, and the Minister's visit served to acquaint him with the range of research and training activities carried out by the Institute and the Historical Archives of the European Union.

Gherardo Bonini, Deputy Director of the Historical Archives, was on hand in Villa Salviati to share some of the earliest exisiting documents concerning Malta's relationship with the European Community. Materials from both public and private archives, including the European Commission, Jacques Delors and especially Romano Prodi, illustrate the trajectory of Malta's eventual accession to the EC in 2004.  

Minister Abela examining Commission fonds on Malta's accession to the EU, at the Historical Archives of the European Union

EUI President Renaud Dehousse, who received the delegation along with Secretary General Vincenzo Grassi, stated that 'Welcoming Minister Abela at the EUI gave me the occasion to reiterate how important the recent adhesion of Malta is to the EUI and to outline how the Institute is taking steps to further the integration of the European Higher Education Area'.