The three Nationalist Party members on the Public Accounts Committee, together with the spokesman for Historical Heritage, Arts and Culture, on Thursday will be presenting a formal request to the Auditor General to investigate the expenditure of €136,793,533 from public funds by the Malta Film Commission between 17 September 2018 and 8 August 2023.

Last Tuesday, the Times of Malta revealed how films and TV series filmed in Malta had received €143 million in state aid over the course of the last five years.

The PN in a statement said that from published figures by the European Commission, it resulted “that the Maltese Film Commission has paid, or obliged itself to pay, the overall amount of €143,833,464 from public funds in five years in favour of various private beneficiaries, but €136,793,533 was spent on foreign beneficiaries.”

The PN reiterates that there are a number of Maltese people and societies in this sector that depend on this type of aid from public funds, both to strengthen Maltese culture and also to improve resources for the development of local talent.

“Therefore, it is in the public interest to ensure that this type of spending of public funds is not depriving, discriminating and/or holding back in any way compared to the spending that is being done to accommodate foreign companies.”

Among the various requests that will be presented to the NAO, the opposition will request an investigation into whether the Maltese Film Commission has adopted a particular procedure of scrutinizing documentation to issue these payments and whether this procedure was in line with the principle of good governance, what are the requirements from the Commission to approve these payments from public funds and whether a diligent exercise was carried out and studied, and what benefits the country will be getting back for each expenditure from public funds.

“These amounts contrast well with the estimates of the Budget for 2023, particularly in the capital allocation of the Ministry of Tourism, where the Maltese Film Commission was allocated the overall sum of €14,000,000, which is much smaller than that published by the European Commission”, the PN said, adding that what the National Audit Office itself found, in its report on the public accounts for 2020, is consistent with what the Maltese Film Commission is doing "extravagance in the use of public funds".

Tourism Ministry reaction

In reaction, the Tourism Ministry said that the Opposition's comments against the cash rebate were solely made in a political attempt to besmirch the government.

"The attitude of the Opposition is dangerous and goes against the national interest, even in the film industry."

The ministry continued that this "misinformation campaign" is aimed to tarnish the government through a dangerous political ploy that was aimed not only to discourage future investment, but also endanger the livelihoods of many people within the film industry.

The ministry said that the cash rebate programme offered to film producers abides by EU regulations and is approved through legal notices following rigorous auditing.

The Ministry concluded its statement by condemning those attempting to taint these incentives by turning this topic into a political issue.