1. Excellency, do you think that Turkey, Ukraine and Croatia are ready to join to the European Union?
The Republic of Malta supports the accession of new the countries to the EU. Every candidate country shall be given a chance, however it should meet the treaty criteria. The level of preparation for the accession of these countries is different. There are many challenges ahead of they. If these countries manage to achieve a satisfactory level of preparation, Malta sees no obstacles to their accession to the EU.

2. A lot of opponents of Turkey's accession are mostly afraid of the great Turkish emigration to Europe. Does Malta also share this concerns?
Emigration problem is nothing new for Malta. For 3 years we fight with unlegal imigration from Africa. But I do not think that imigration of Turks will have so big influence on Maltese job market. As you know, Malta is not a big country but the fact that we are in group of countries with advanced economic development, certainly makes our market more tempting. But in my opinion potencial Turkish migrants will choose bigger countries like Germany, France or Great Britain.

3. Excellency, are you afraid that accession of the Muslim country may cause a lot of cultural and religious conflicts in Europe?
Turkey is a Muslim country which accesion could bring Islam expansion to the areas of UE. And you have to know that most of these areas are Christian. Malta is known as one of the most Catolic country in Europe, so Islam immigration will not be accepted enthusiastically. But we should not panic. First of all European Union respects equality and freedom all of citizens, regardless of their differences. Modern Europe have to accept and learn how to live next to European Muslims.

4.What does Malta think about the eastern direction of the integration?
Republic of Malta will support the efforts of eastern European countries which apply for accession to the European Union. However, on condition that they meet Copenhagen criteria. Keeping the eastern countries out seriously endangers their economic transition, and economic failure in the east could threaten peace and prosperity in western Europe. The perceived economic costs and benefits will dictate the enlargement's timing. Enlargement is a very good deal for both the EU incumbents and the new members.

5.Russia is a very important geopolitical player. How do you assess today's EU-Russia relations?
The position of the Republic of Malta on the relations between the EU - Russia can be described as friendly and pragmatic. Russia is an important figure on the international arena and it is worth maintaining a good relationship with this country. A very important issue is the economic relationship. Russia is able to offer many lucrative business proposals. As a country with vast energy resources is an attractive partner.

6. Whether the EU should stop thinking about the next accessions and focus on the problems that already has?
Assessing the impact of the financial and economic crisis on EU enlargement is rather complex. The crisis has certainly contributed further to scepticism of both the political leadership and public opinion across the EU and to ‘enlargement fatigue.’ However, I reckon that the EU enlargement has positive implications for economic growth and welfare in both the “new” and the “previous” EU Members. EU enlargement will not only foster economic and financial integration. It will also increase competition, promote structural reforms and lead to higher productivity and potential growth. Such economic benefits should convince the opponents to support the EU enlargement.

7. What are the biggest threats and challenges for the EU today?
There are of course many challenges so let us focus on three of them that seem to be the most important. Number one is the economy: the EU countries must maintain steady economic growth and reduce unemployment. Number two is financial instability of certain countries that puts a burden on the entire Union but mostly on the Euro zone. Number three is political instability in the Countries of Northern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. That may force the EU to undertake military intervention as it already happened in Libya. Malta in particular is one of the EU states that faces an increased wave of immigrants.

8. Aren't you afraid of the internal crisis of the EU caused by the difficult economic situation and political reasons? According to the mentioned above, don't you think that the accession of new countries could be very risky for the EU functioning?
Personally, I am a reasonably brave man and there are very few things I am afraid of. I believe that the Union will withstand any internal issues. Both economic and political situation does not seem to be much worse than in the past. As far as accession of new states is concerned, they all go through at thorough accession procedure that eliminates risk of problems.

9. What issues should be the most important for the Polish presidency?
Each presidency, including the Polish one, is obligated to maintaining continuity in the EU policies. Therefore Poland cannot escape from continuing and resolving any issues in inherits from its predecessors.
Secondly, there are urgent issues to be undertaken in 2011. The most important of them are: financial instability of certain EU countries, political instability in Northern Africa and finding a compromise satisfying all states for the new budget for years 2013-2020.