The Nationalist Party has come out with proposals to help Maltese businesses to take more EU funds.

The PN would do this by going after more funds directed at SMEs and Maltese industry, by increasing the rate of success of Maltese companies who want to make use of EU funds to expand their operations and their ideas, a PN statement read.

The proposals include better adapting European Commission legislative proposals regarding EU funds to reflect the Maltese market, the party said. The PN proposes doing this by introducing more adapted thresholds for Malta in terms of participation in funding projects.

The PN also proposed integrating industry and business with research and education, through partnerships with foreign institutions. The success rate of projects for direct funds increases when there the research sector is also involved, the PN added.

The PN also proposed setting up a centre that will work as a networking platform as well as a first guidance office on EU funds for Maltese business. They also want to use the European Parliament and Europe as a showcase of Maltese entrepreneurship by, for example, working to set up fairs to give Maltese ideas and products exposure in Brussels.

PN MP Robert Cutajar said that there are EU funds which are currently not being used well, and that Malta needs to compete for them.

PN MP Edwin Vassallo said that profits are reducing for businesses, stressing the need to give businesses courage.

PN MEP candidate Peter Agius said that "our absorption of funding in research and innovation is also at the bottom of the graph. This creates a vicious cycle which makes it difficult to tap into the new areas of technology, digitalization and innovating which will be strong component s in the next EU budget with €9.2 billion earmarked for digitalization, AI and robotics alone."

PL statement

The PL, in a counter statement, said that if EU funds are entrusted to these speakers, they will work them the same way they ran the country for years. "Handling it based on debt without long-term planning."

The PL said that this government is bringing direct grants and a wide range of opportunities for SMEs to grow and strengthen.