The European Commission has not yet been notified of the state aid arrangements the government has made with Crane Currency to lure the company to Malta, this newspaper is informed.

Brussels-based sources said the Commission’s competition directorate, responsible for investigations related to state aid rules, had not been informed about the matter.

Paul Zahra, chairman of the government-appointed state aid monitoring board, would not go into whether the arrangements are in line with EU competition rules.

READ: Crane Currency gets a fast-track permit

Acknowledging that the government had informed the board of the assistance granted “as per standard procedure”, Mr Zahra added that “as is the norm in any other case, details of the specific assistance is protected by the relevant provisions in the Malta Enterprise Act and the Business Promotion Act”.

He said the nature of the assistance granted to Crane Currency was “not any different from the support granted to other industrial projects in recent years”.

Both Malta Enterprise and the government failed to give details about the level and nature of the assistance granted to Crane Currency.

“Brussels is not really interested if similar state aid has been given before or not,” the sources said.

“What is to be determined is whether this state assistance is in line with European Union rules, particularly on whether it creates unfair competition vis-à-vis other similar providers in the industry and whether it distorts the market.”

According to European Union rules, an investigation could start if it is established that Malta did, in fact, fail to notify Brussels about the arrangements.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat ann-ounced last year Crane Currency would be investing some €100 million in a new, state-of-the-art plant in Malta to print money.

Quoting Malta Enterprise officials, who insisted on anonymity, the Times of Malta eventually reported that Maltese taxpayers would pay about €81 million of the €100 million investment.

The sources said the state aid arrangements came in different forms.

Apart from financing the €27 million printing facility built on public land in Ħal-Far, Malta Enterprise agreed to guarantee 75 per cent of a €71 million loan (equivalent to €54 million) given to Crane by Bank of Valletta to purchase equipment and finance installation.

Another subsidy of up to three per cent on interest payable by the company on its local bank loans was also catered for.

According to Malta Enterprise projections, Crane should employ about 300 workers in its first years of operation and will be contributing to the Maltese economy through the purchase of raw printing material and equipment via local agents.

Crane has yet to announce who its suppliers will be.

Kasco Ltd, owned by the Prime Minister’s chief of staff, Keith Schembri, is Malta’s largest agent in the supply of printing equipment and paper.

When announcing the Crane Currency project, Dr Muscat described Mr Schembri as “the catalyst” behind the deal.

ivan.camilleri@timesofmalta.com