It is ironic that the success of our country is working against us to obtain the funds we deserve, but we will continue working hard to get the best package for Malta, Prime Minister Robert Abela said on Sunday.
“We will not accept being penalised due to our success. It is ironic that despite our country’s success, such numbers work against us. Despite all this, we will not stop fighting to ensure that we get a big budget for our country.”
Abela commented that despite Malta, and other EU countries who have worked hard to get their economy in good order, they are being penalised when it comes to the EU funds for the post-COVID-19 economic recovery.
Abela was speaking during a telephone interview with One News journalist Samuel Lucas, as they briefly discussed the current situation.
Abela is currently in Brussels taking part in the European leader’s summit to discuss the EU’s budget for the EU’s seven-year budget proposals and the COVID-19 recovery package. This is the first face-to-face summit since coronavirus crisis.
Since Friday, EU leaders have taken part in intense discussions regarding the budget and COVID-19 recovery package, and Abela commented that the discussions are unlikely to conclude by the end of the weekend. “On Saturday, we spent the whole day in a number of discussions, and unfortunately not coming to any conclusions. The only conclusion we have reached is that it is unlikely we will conclude this weekend. In reality, we will continue these discussions in the weeks to come, but we cannot afford to keep dragging on; we need to make decisions.”
It has been reported that EU leaders are in a state of disagreement regarding the EU budget and coronavirus recovery fund. The EU executive has proposed a 750 billion euro fund, partly based on common borrowing, to be sent as loans and grants to the countries in most need for funding. That fund will additional to that of the seven year €1 trillion EU budget that leaders were fighting over even before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Abel said that the long discussions are looking into whether the financing should be based on the level of unemployment in recent years or the impact of the pandemic on expected GPD for the next two years.
“So far, Malta is expected to be the best performer coming out the pandemic in 2021, but the commission will not reward us for this, but instead penalise us for being successful,” said Abela.
Apart from this, Saturday’s discussions highlighted on the theme of ‘good governance and rule of law’, which according to the Prime Minister, the commission acknowledged the strides being made locally on these two points. He noted the level of respect being shown by other EU leaders when he would discuss and put forward ideas to the table. “You can see the difference of respect, even when compared back in February. This is why it is important to address these matters head on,” Abela said.