The ferry service between Mġarr, Gozo and Ċirkewwa “was and will remain government-run” Gozo Minister Clint Cammilleri told parliament on Tuesday.
If the European Commission forces a tendering process to determine who runs the ferry crossing, the government will ensure that it will continue running the service, the minister said.
Camilleri did not elaborate on that plan.
Times of Malta has reported that pressure from the European Commission is leading the government to consider roping in the private sector to run the Gozo ferry service between Ċirkewwa and Mġarr.
The government runs the service using state-owned Gozo Channel Company Ltd through a public service obligation contract, allowing it to subsidise the essential service without breaching EU state aid rules.
The PSO contract, however, expired in October 2017. Instead of issuing a call for bids to identify a company that will run the service, the government has been extending its contract with Gozo Channel annually.
This has led to irritation in Brussels at what appear to be breaches of EU competition law and prompted speculation about the ferry service eventually becoming privatised.
However, Camilleri assured parliament that the service will remain government-run, as he delivered a speech about how Gozo will be affected by the 2023 budget.
He added that a PSO agreement is in the works for the Gozo fast ferry service which connects Gozo to Valletta. That service is operated by two private companies.
Those companies, Gozo Fast Ferry and Virtu Ferries, have been promised a combined €12 million in government aid to continue operating what they say is an unprofitable route. Both firms dramatically slashed their ferry schedules in late September without prior warning, angering commuters who rely on the fast ferry service.
Airfield, EU funds for Gozo
The minister said building works on a Gozo airfield will also start next year, after planning permits are acquired.
In his 45-minute speech, Camilleri reacted to claims by his Opposition counterpart, Alex Borg, that Gozo has had a five per cent reduction in investment.
Camilleri said €60 million in EU funds Malta received through an urban development fund will be entirely directed to Gozo.
10 per cent of all cohesion funds Malta receives from the EU are also being redirected to Gozo, he said.
Camilleri also responded to claims Borg made on security in Gozo and Marsalforn and Xlendi specifically.
In a Times of Malta opinion piece, published last July, Borg had argued that the lack of security in Gozo was in part due to demographic changes on the island.
“Xlendi and Marsalforn have gone through multicultural changes. And while the whole of Maltese history is testament to the scale of how rich and beautiful multiculturalism can be, these communities on the margins of our indigenous population tend to strike a different undertone,” Borg had written.
Camilleri decried that argument as "extremist sentiment, to not use another word" and argued that the government was actively working to ensure Gozo was more secure.
He cited the installation of police CCTV cameras in Marsalforn as a case in point.