11/26/2023 9:30 pm (current 11/26/2023 9:30 pm)
Malta’s Prime Minister Abela is considered a hard-liner on the issue of migration ©APA/AFP
Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) will receive Malta’s head of government Robert Abela on Monday. The focus of the discussions will likely be migration policy, as Malta is one of Austria’s closest allies on this issue. In terms of security policy, the two neutral countries also operate in a similar way. Furthermore, Malta is currently being considered as the possible next president of the Vienna-based Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
Nehammer welcomes the Social Democratic politician with military honors in front of the Federal Chancellery at 9 am. A joint press conference is scheduled for 10:30 am. Abela has been in the role since 2020. His controversial predecessor, Joseph Muscat, had to resign due to the scandal surrounding the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who researched corruption in the EU’s smallest state. The Maltese government is taking a tough stance on the issue of migration and is not allowing sea rescue ships to enter its ports. Earlier this year, Nehammer, Abela and five other EU heads of government wrote to EU leaders calling for more EU measures to protect external borders, faster deportations and new return agreements with third countries.
In view of NATO’s northward expansion, Austria is interested in closely coordinating with Malta in terms of security policy, which, together with Cyprus and Ireland, is the only remaining neutral partner country in the EU. During a visit to Valletta in June, Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner (ÖVP) highlighted that Malta and Austria had similar positions in many areas and that closer cooperation on cyber defense and exercises for foreign missions was planned. Abela visits Vienna two days before the OSCE’s annual meeting in Skopje, North Macedonia, where a solution must be found to the leadership crisis threatening the existence of the security organization. Given that Russia has been blocking Estonia’s bid for the OSCE presidency in 2024 for more than a year, diplomats say Malta could intervene. This has not been officially confirmed. Austria has so far defended the extension of the mandate of the current country it presides over, North Macedonia.
In the afternoon, Nehammer will also meet with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. However, no press release date has been announced. Abiy received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 for his reconciliation initiative with neighboring Eritrea, which had been hostile for years. However, a civil war with rebels in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, which ended in 2022, significantly damaged the head of government’s international reputation.