Amid the media focus on what was happening in Rome all through last week after the death of Pope John Paul II, the news that Malta is to retain its Objective One status and therefore receive more funds from the European Union managed to make the headlines too, with all local newspapers putting the story on their front page.
It was excellent news for Malta, as Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi told The Malta Independent hours after the Eurostat figures published last Thursday ensured that Malta will be getting what it had been fighting for.
Malta’s gross domestic product fell just below the 75 per cent threshold that qualified the country for extra funds, so needed for this country to make a leap forward. It was calculated that Malta’s GDP was 74.75 of the EU average during the 2000-2002 period.
Not so long ago, initial calculations had put Malta’s GDP just above the EU average, and this would have cost the country a lot of money in terms of funds from the EU for the period 2007-2013.
Malta made its case in meetings the Prime Minister had in Brussels in February, and at the time it was still unclear as to whether the EU would have listened. Several issues were put forward by the government, including the fact that the years on which the statistics were based included heavy investment made by ST Micro and did not reflect real GDP growth.
What the Maltese government insisted at the time was that it refused to accept that Malta finds itself out of the Objective One region so quickly after becoming an EU member, especially considering that other countries have benefited from this status – and still are – for 13 years or more. “We cannot be phased out before we are phased in,” was a common comment used by the Maltese diplomats in Brussels.
At the time of these meetings, the statistics from each and every country or region had not been completed, but the government did well in pursuing the matter on a political level too. By bringing up the topic at a time when there was a risk that Malta could have lost substantial funds it did a world of good to the stand Malta was taking – and would have taken – if last Thursday’s statistics had been detrimental to Malta. The government already showed that it would not have taken a negative decision without a fight.
This is because, as the government had argued at the time, it would have been unfair for Malta to miss out on some E250-300 million “extra” so soon after membership and at a time when the Maltese economy is still miles away from being in line with that of other countries within the EU.
As it happened, the statistics were favourable, and in all, Malta will be receiving some E1 billion in the seven years covered by the EU budget, rather than “just” E700-750 million. Those extra funds will come in handy to push Malta’s economy closer to Europe than it is today.
Malta needs as much financial help as possible over the next few years to make the necessary progress and, by so doing, improve the quality of life of one and all. Every single Maltese citizen will be benefiting from the funds that will be made available by the EU.
After all, that is what EU membership was all about. Apart from being attached to a group of nations that is politically growing stronger, Malta’s EU membership also means that the country gets financial assistance to develop its economy and, as a result, its standard of living.
It is known that the government has already started planning on how the funds to be attained from the EU between 2007 and 2013 will be utilised. Needless to say, it is hoped that the funds will be used in the best way possible. We do not know what will happen after 2013.