“The modernization of the European Union’s value added tax system and successful conclusion of the 2018 budget negotiations are definitely priorities for the Estonian presidency,” Sester said in a press release. However, the presidency agenda also depended much on how far Malta would be able to get with its own priorities, he observed.

Although Estonia and Malta were both facing their first EU council presidency this year, they both aspired to carry it out professionally, Sester said.

Scicluna has been the finance minister of Malta since 2013. In April his country will host an informal meeting of the EU’s finance ministers to discuss the future of the European economic and monetary union, among other things. Estonia will organize an informal meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors in Tallinn in September this year.