MEP Marlene Mizzi stated her position in favour of added funding to transform poor peripheral areas into areas of growth, prosperity, new opportunities and job creation. She further stated that it is important to introduce more cooperation programmes that contribute to enlarging the knowledge-based economy, along with the need to improve accessibility to stimulate investment in SMEs and local economies.

MEP Mizzi was speaking in the European Parliament during a debate on the Cohesion policy in EU borders, in her capacity as S&D spokesperson on this opinion. She emphasized the importance of funding programmes that cover education, culture and sports, particularly for peripheral regions which might miss out on opportunities. 

MEP Mizzi said that “the European integration process has helped internal border regions to transform from poor peripheral areas into areas of growth, prosperity, new opportunities and job creation. Cross-border regions have always faced more particular challenges than the rest of the EU regions. Territorial cooperation between cross-border regions plays an important role in overcoming different obstacles and mitigating the adverse effects of internal borders and in providing Europeans with innovative solutions as regards research, education, training, culture and integration"  Mizzi  quoted cross-border projects like INTERREG that have made a genuine difference to border regions and have positively helped to improve their transformation. Cooperation programmes have contributed to enlarging the knowledge-based economy and improving accessibility across borders stimulating investment in SMEs and diversifying local economies.

In her address MEP Mizzi argued that “by facilitating cross-border school visits and extracurricular activated for children from a very young age, with the support of cross-borders cohesion projects, we could unleash the potential of young children and further boost growth in the poorer European region”.

"The funds are necessary for economic development and the furtherance of the less privileged cross-border regions. Cohesion funds are vital for education and our youth. As such, the Union needs to work in a spirit of cooperation in this field, to increase economic growth that will benefit all and particularly interesting for Malta,” said MEP Mizzi.