The European Commission has disbursed €41.1 million to Malta in pre-financing, equivalent to 13% of the country's financial allocation under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF).

The prefinancing payment will help to kick-start the implementation of the crucial investment and reform measures outlined in Malta's recovery and resilience plan.

The Commission will authorise further disbursements based on the implementation of the investments and reforms outlined in Malta's recovery and resilience plan.

The country is set to receive €316.4 million in total, fully consisting of grants, over the lifetime of its plan.

Since June 2021, the Commission has raised €71 billion for NextGenerationEU via long-term EUBonds – €12 billion of which through the first ever NextGenerationEU green bond issuance.

On 14 December, the Commission published its funding plan for the first semester of 2022.

The plan foresees the issuance of €50 billion of long-term EU-Bonds between January and June 2022, to be complemented by short-term EU-Bills.

In addition, the Commission currently has around €20 billion in EU-Bills outstanding. Part of NextGenerationEU, the RRF will provide €723.8 billion (in current prices) to support investments and reforms across Member States.

The Maltese plan is part of the unprecedented EU response to emerge stronger from the COVID-19 crisis, fostering the green and digital transitions and strengthening resilience and cohesion in our societies.

The RRF in Malta finances investments and reforms that are expected to have a deeply transformative effect on Malta's economy and society.

Here are some of these projects:

 

Securing the green transition: Malta's is one of the greenest recovery and resilience plans, with 54% of the plan's total allocation supporting climate objectives. €60 million will be invested in energy-efficiency renovations and greening of private and public buildings, including hospitals and schools. A further €16 million are foreseen for a new ferry-landing place at St Paul's Bay/Buġibba, with a view to shifting transport from road to sea and reducing emissions from the transport sector.

 

Supporting the digital transition: The plan invests €34 million in the government's IT systems to strengthen their resilience, capacity and security and enhance digital public services for a better customer experience. Another €15 million will be made available for the digitalisation of companies, notably SMEs, in various sectors, including wholesale and retail, tourism and manufacturing. The plan also provides €10 million to implement secure digital solutions and tools to support users in the justice sector, increasing accessibility of justice and strengthening the system's efficiency.

 

Reinforcing economic and social resilience: The Maltese plan supports the resiliencebuilding and sustainability of its health sector by investing €49.9 million to promote the integration and well-being of foreign health workers, establishing a Blood, Tissue and Cell Centre for Malta, and introducing digital technologies to facilitate interaction with patients and health professionals and improve treatment. An additional €41.4 million will strengthen, amongst others, early school leaving prevention and intervention measures, reinforce quality and inclusive education, expand guidance and opportunities for upskilling and reskilling for all adults and in particular for the low-skilled, and further develop the regular analysis and monitoring of the pension and unemployment benefits system to support its adequacy and sustainability. Malta's plan also strengthens the independence and efficiency of the courts and of the investigative and prosecutorial arms of the justice system, while also adopting measures that partially curb aggressive tax planning.

 

President Ursula von der Leyen said: “I am delighted that Malta will receive its first payment of €41 million under NextGenerationEU. This is an important step towards delivering the ambitious measures contained in Malta's recovery and resilience plan on the ground. The plan has a special focus on the fight against climate change and digitalisation, through measures such as energyefficiency renovations, the promotion of greener mobility, and the digitalisation of public administration. This support will boost a greener and more digital future for Malta.”