The Maltese government sent letters to Members of the European Parliament one week before a crucial EU negotiation in an attempt to persuade them to support a controversial gas pipeline connecting the Mediterranean island to Italy’s gas network, Euractiv reports today.
The ‘Melita’ pipeline project linking Malta to Sicily was granted an exception in new rules governing how energy infrastructure projects can get priority EU status, making it eligible to receive EU funds.
The pipeline project is controversial because it will link to the Delimiara power station, which is part-owned by the man on trial for the killing of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galiza with a car bomb in October 2017, the report adds.
According to EU Parliament sources, the energy minister of Malta, Miriam Dalli, wrote to negotiators from the European Parliament and called them directly in an effort to persuade them about the need to support the Melita pipeline.
In the letter, Dalli positions the Melita pipeline as a clean energy project because it would be hydrogen-ready: “We are committed to decarbonise our economy by 2050, and Malta wants to be given the opportunity to tap into clean energy sources. Having a hydrogen-ready pipeline is a decisive step forward to ensure that the country moves away from LNG to a cleaner source,” she wrote, according to Euractiv.
“If this project materialises, Malta would be given a fair chance at actually moving towards clean energy sources, opening up market options and deliver competition rather than favour any particular operator,” she concluded.
It is not unusual for EU countries to lobby decision-makers for a particular outcome in EU negotiations. But in this case, no other country than Malta tried influencing the Parliament, Euractiv reported.
Contacted by EURACTIV, the Maltese energy ministry emphasised that the project was necessary to diversify the country’s energy mix and end Malta’s physical isolation.
“Without the pipeline, Malta would have to keep the existing LNG fuel infrastructure, be consequently locked into fossil fuels, and remain isolated from accessing this renewable gas emerging sector, putting the country and its citizens at a disadvantage,” it said.
The Melita gas pipeline has already received EU money and could now receive more following Wednesday’s deal on the TEN-E (Trans-European Networks for Energy) regulation.
Under the terms of the deal, Melita and the EastMed pipeline connecting Cyprus to mainland Greece will both remain eligible for EU funding and inclusion on the next list of EU priority energy projects.
However, they will not be eligible for funding beyond 2027 and project developers will have to present a roadmap specifying when the pipelines should become dedicated to transporting hydrogen, a gaseous fuel supported at EU level because it can help decarbonise heavy industry.
See the full report here