According to a report issued by the European Commission and covering the first 18 months of the 2007-2013 Cohesion Policy, Malta has placed among the top performers in the management of Structural and Cohesion Funds. The report outlines Malta’s efficiency in submitting and approving projects that fall under the European Social Fund (ESF) as well as the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

In total, Malta’s allocation for the seven-year period is of €855 million and the report says that in the first 18 months, Malta had already managed to allocate 47.8 per cent of the funds, amounting to a total of €409 million. This means that after 21 per cent of the total period, nearly half of the funds have been allocated. The Commission has, therefore, rated Malta as fifth in funding efficiency and performance out of the 27 Member States, and first among those that joined the Union in 2004.

Among the projects co-financed by these Funds, one finds the rebuilding of some of Malta and Gozo’s main roads, a waste treatment and transfer facility in Gozo, the restoration of Malta and Gozo’s bastions and fortifications as well as various projects targeting the employability of Maltese workers and students carried out by ETC, the University of Malta and MCAST.

The projects follow guidelines agreed to by the Maltese Government and the EU under the two Operational Programmes that set out Malta’s priorities for the period. While Operational Programme I is linked to the European Regional Development Fund and aims at investing in Competitiveness for a Better Quality of Life, Operational Programme II is linked to the European Social Fund and invests in Empowering People for More Jobs and a Better Quality of Life. These guidelines are also inter-linked with other strategic documents, including the National Reform Programme (NRP), the National Strategy for Rural Development and the National Fisheries Strategic Plan (NFSP). In the meantime, the goals and objectives are outlined in the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF).

The European Union’s Cohesion Policy aims to promote harmonious and sustainable development across the EU and reduce socio-economic disparities between its regions. For the period under scrutiny, the EU is investing approximately 35 per cent of its total budget on Cohesion Policy.

Following the 2004 – 2006 period where Malta was classified as an objective one island-region-state, meaning that it benefitted from the maximum amount of co-financing from the Union (85 per cent), it managed to secure the same classification for the current period.

While MEUSAC’s funding and information units offer information, advice and help with the filling of funding applications to Non-Governmental Organisations, local councils and interested individuals, the Planning & Priorities Coordination Division (PPCD) is the national managing authority for the Funds.

Cyrus Engerer is Information Executive, Meusac