New Head of the European Parliament Information Office in Malta

Peter Agius is the new Head of the European Parliament Office in Malta. Dr Agius is a European official who has been working with the Council of Ministers in Brussels for the past ten years. His duties in the Council involved participation in the negotiations with the European Parliament on internal market legislation.

Dr Agius will be taking up office in July and will be replacing Julian Vassallo who led the office between 2006 and 2011, and Massimo Farrugia who has been acting head of the office since mid-2011.

''In my role of assisting the Council in negotiations over the past years I have witnessed first hand the commitment of the Members of the European Parliament in delivering upon the aspirations of their constituencies, the European citizens. In this process I have also noticed how the European Parliament frequently encourages the other European institutions to be more bold in their ambitions for Europe,'' Dr Agius said.

Given a popular mandate from across Europe, including Malta and Gozo, the European Parliament is the EU institution which can ensure the union truly responds to the will of its citizens.

"The European Parliament's competences have increased over the years so that it is now the leading decision-maker in the European Union on matters such as the EU budget, the appointment of the President of the European Commission and most importantly, on the adoption of European laws with a direct effect on the daily lives of the citizens in a myriad of areas" said Dr Agius.

The European Parliament thus ensures the direct influence of citizens on the activities and priorities of the Union. Citizens of Malta and Gozo may affect this process through the six members of the European Parliament elected in June 2009.

The main role of the Information Office in Valletta, which is located at Europe House, is to serve as a communication platform linking the activities of the European Parliament and its Members with the public and interest group stakeholders.

The office is available to assist in any query of the public, the media and organised civil society on the work of the European Parliament.