Malta’s Prime Minister, Lawrence Gonzi, is today expected to participate in a European Council summit after addressing the EPP Congress which was held in Bucharest, yesterday.

“As we face unprecedented challenges in securing the well-being of our citizens, this prize is a much needed wake-up call to the Europe that we have all come to take for granted. It is a wake-up call to the reality that the European Union is there - but that it was not always there. It is a wake-up call to the realisation that our Union can provide us with solutions for our collective concerns - if only we had the will to use it. It is therefore a wake-up call that puts back our focus on what Europe is really all about,” said Prime Minister Gonzi during the EPP Congress.

The Prime Minister also said that he is fully committed to the integrity of the European institutions and will be acting fast to nominate a new Commissioner from Malta following the shock resignation of John Dalli from European Commissioner. “I will be communicating with President Barroso in this sense immediately in order to make sure that this episode is quickly closed in the interest of public trust in the institutions.”