Malta could turn out to be one of the biggest losers of the new EU budget, missing out on some €189 million in funds, according to calculations made by the former head of the European Parliament office in Malta.
Peter Agius, a former MEP candidate based at the parliament in Brussels, said the sum on the table right now for Malta for the period 2021-2027 is about €596 million in structural and cohesion funds. This would be down from the €786 which had been secured for the period between 2013 and 2020.
Dr Agius calculated the figures using official documents that were then verified by informal sources.
“This is very disheartening given that Malta must now look towards the next quantum leap to address the needs of an oversized population in an undersized infrastructure,” he said yesterday.
A metro system possibly stretching all the way to Gozo, a gas pipeline, 5G infrastructure and investment in robotics and AI all stand to be limited or boosted depending on the government’s ability to make Malta’s case in Brussels, he said.
While it was too early to say which areas would suffer the most with the predicted cut, Dr Agius said the government should ensure it has its priorities in order so as to be able to go to the negotiating table prepared.
An oversized population in an undersized infrastructure
Cohesion funds, targeted at helping the EU’s poorer regions, should still be regarded as crucial to Malta, he insisted. Such funds are targeted mainly at regions with a GDP per capita below 75 per cent of EU average.
Malta’s economic boom has pushed it above that threshold in recent years.
The prospect of receiving lower funding had already been flagged in 2018, when the European Commission had first unveiled its budget plans.
On Friday, the first round of talks on the budget were concluded with no deal. EU leaders, including Malta’s Prime Minister Robert Abela, ended an extraordinary summit in Brussels saying they needed more time to negotiate.
There were still big differences between the wealthier countries that are net contributors to the EU budget and member states that are net beneficiaries of the funds.
At the end of the meeting, European Council president Charles Michel said: “We have worked very hard to try to reconcile the different concerns, the different interests, the different opinions on the table. But we need more time.”
He will now be consulting EU leaders on how to take things forward.
Apart from annual budgets, the EU also sets out a seven-year plan, known as the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) that sets the limits on the union’s spending. The budget under negotiation is for the 2021-2027 period.
The European Commission makes a proposal for a new budget before the ongoing one expires. The European Council, made up of EU leaders, then takes on a central role in the MFF legislative process.
EU leaders debate the budget and provide the council with political guidance.
What is Malta saying?
Prime Minister Robert Abela confirmed on Friday that while negotiations had progressed, they remained inconclusive. Talks went on for 28 hours, he said.
Malta is among the larger group of countries arguing against budget cuts.
“There are particular obstacles, such as the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy and cohesion funds, which are essential to the principles the EU is built on,” Dr Abela said.
The prime minister said he was optimistic that a deal will eventually be reached.
He said he had been welcomed “very well” by fellow leaders during his first EU summit as prime minister.