After years of hard work, we are finally reaping the fruits of our labour. Together with the EU Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira, the government has launched Malta’s operational programmes for the next seven years.
Despite outperforming our EU partners economically, through the negotiation skills of the prime minister, Malta was allocated a record sum of €2.2 billion in EU funds.
The commission can choose to assign fewer funds to those which have achieved significant economic progress. Thus, acquiring double the amount we had in comparison to the last seven years was no mean feat.
With this figure, we aspire to change the face of our country to prepare it for tomorrow’s challenges. The funds will look to modernise Malta, making the islands more sustainable, digital and resilient.
And we shall lose no time in our ambition to achieve these goals. We are rearing to go.
Malta boasts a very high consumption rate of EU funds. It is vital to make sure that we remain one of Europe’s top performers and exhaust the funds allocated to us.
Therefore, we will be opening the first programmes and schemes immediately, so that everyone, from students looking to further their education to government entities with large infrastructural projects, can obtain funding to write their success stories. The funds will target all industries and every person, regardless of their background.
We will strengthen Malta’s food security by investing a strong €167 million in the agricultural sector through the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development. Our goal is to improve the capacity of our farmers’ fields, help existing farmers improve their equipment and encourage youth to enter the industry.
No matter how small your story is, the funds are here to help you write your own success story
Meanwhile, €31 million will be allocated from the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) to improve infrastructure for Malta’s fishing ports and support both the aquaculture and the fishing industry.
The largest portion of funds will come from the EU’s Cohesion Fund. We will be utilising €1.2 billion to beef up our strategic, medical, educational and cultural infrastructure while making it greener.
The funds also aim to create a more robust economic environment, protecting small and medium-sized companies.
While this is the most media-friendly aspect of the Cohesion Funds, it is not the only one. Often, the success stories of the average person who improves their quality of life through the European Social Funds Plus go unnoticed. A total of €205 million will be allocated to further education, tackling poverty, training, employment, youth guarantee, and NGOs, among other things. This is the fund that I hold closest to heart.
When I meet members of the public, they often explain their impression of EU funds as being bureaucratic and only available for large government entities. This is not the case.
My message to you today is simple: the EU funds are for you to use. They are for you to use because they are yours.
No matter how small your story is, the funds are here to help you write your own success story. Your success story is going to be our biggest ambition.
To make the process less cumbersome, we have developed a new website, already accessible at Fondi.Eu, which will guide prospective applicants and we will start a process to bolster “Servizzi Ewropej f’Malta”. Combined, these will provide a one-stop shop for those interested in obtaining funds.
As a government, we are looking to make you, the citizen, a key part of the chain to modernise the country and make it greener, resilient and digital.
We are sure that our promise to improve your quality of life can be achieved thanks to these funds.
As of today, we are giving you more access to EU funds. It is our commitment to make sure that, for the next seven years, we bring EU funds closer to home.
Chris Bonett is the parliamentary secretary for EU funds.