Jean Micallef Grimaud is currently working for Maltäs government at the Permanent Representation of Malta to the EU in Brussels as part of Maltäs Council of the EU Presidency team. There he heads the Education, Youth, Culture, and Sports unit and will chair the Council¿s Education Committee during Maltäs Presidency from January to June 2017. Previously, Jean held positions at the Office of Maltäs Prime Minster and was a member of Maltäs Diplomatic Corps between 2001 and 2009. He served as a First Secretary at the Permanent Representation of Malta to the European Union in Brussels from 2004 until 2009 where he held various positions - as a First Secretary on the EU Structural Funds (2004-2006), a member of the Cabinet of the Permanent Representative (2006-2008), and finally MERTENS (2008-2009) which is a position held by high ranking diplomats. Jean was awarded his doctorate degree from the Manchester Metropolitan University. His research focused on small state influence in the shaping stages of EU decision-making.

This book examines a crucial question about small states and their governments¿ influence in the European Union (EU) decision-making processes. -  Are EU small member state governments influential in EU decision-making processes? In other words, do they exercise influence in these processes? And if so, how and at which stage do they do this? This book seeks to answer the above questions by focusing on Malta - the smallest state in the EU - and whether it exercises influence in ¿uploading¿ its preferences in two distinct stages of EU legislative decision-making processes - decision-shaping (formation) and decision-taking (adoption). The cases selected and analyzed showcase the Maltese government¿s behaviour in legislative negotiations in differing EU policy spheres that are extremely relevant to it. These are the adoption of EU directives on pyrotechnic articles (falling under the EU competition and consumer health and safety policy spheres) and on the extension ofEU long-term residence to beneficiaries of international protection (falling under EU immigration policy). As analyzed in the latter chapters of the book, Maltäs government has achieved varying degrees of success in its exercise of influence in these EU decision-making processes.

Chapter 1 - Introduction.- Chapter 2 - A historical perspective of small states in the EU.- Chapter 3 - Conceptualizing notions of power and influence in the EU legislative process: governmental capacities and strategies.- Chapter 4 - Defining key terms in relation to decision-shaping and decision-taking in EU decision-making processes.- Chapter 5 - Establishing the methodology.- Chapter 6 - An introduction to the empirical research: Malta and the EU decision-making process.- Chapter 7 - Malta's government in the legislative decision-making processes of two directives on the placing on the market of pyrotechnic articles: Case Studies 1 and 2.0.- Chapter 8 - Malta's government in the legislative decision-making process of the extension of an EU directive on long-term residence to beneficiaries of international protection: Case Study 3.- Chapter 9 - Conclusion.