The Nationalist Party said on Wednesday that the Labour Government has withdrawn European funds earmarked to replace over 100 diesel buses with electric ones, aiming to reduce air pollution and emissions.

 In a press conference, the PN said that “Labour’s incompetence” had led to millions in EU funding being lost.

“These funds had been allocated after being secured by a private company to complement the transition to electric buses with charging station infrastructure. The same company had to abandon plans to invest millions more in this project,” the PN said. 

The project, agreed upon by the Government and the European Commission, was valued at €34 million from EU Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) funds.

The PN said however, that the Government had failed to honour its commitments. “Not only did it withdraw from this agreement with the European Commission, but it also reneged on its agreement with Malta Public Transport regarding the same project,” the party said. 

In a press conference held at the Valletta Bus Terminus, Shadow Minister for Energy, Research and Innovation Ryan Callus; Shadow Minister for EU Funds and Sport David Agius; and Shadow Miniter for Climate Change and Public Cleanliness Eve Borg Bonello outlined the negative consequences of this decision.

Firstly, the party said, Malta will lose EU funds already assigned to Malta Public Transport under the Connecting Europe Facility, a central EU fund allocated through competitive proposals rather than national allotments. These funds were won through a private company project to establish charging station infrastructure for electric public transport vehicles.

“As a result of the Government’s decision, Malta Public Transport no longer has a purpose for this infrastructure, as the approved funds for electric buses have been withdrawn. This means €7 million has been lost and cannot be recovered, dealing a significant blow to the country’s charging point infrastructure,” the party said. 

Furthermore, the party said, Malta Public Transport will have to refund millions of euro already received as pre-financing for this project. Worse still, the private investment of approximately €50 million planned by Malta Public Transport will also be abandoned. 

“Secondly, the Maltese Government breached its agreement with the European Commission under Measure C2.I.3 of the Recovery and Resilience Plan, approved in September 2021 and updated in September 2023. The Labour Government had committed to using funds to purchase a substantial number of electric buses to replace diesel ones. Questions now arise as to how the €34 million in EU funds withdrawn from this investment will be used,” the party continued. 

Finally, the party said that as a consequence of this, the Maltese population will continue to endure emissions from diesel public transport buses. “This missed opportunity to reduce harmful emissions from the country’s roads means respiratory diseases, especially in children, will persist.” 

"If the Government truly cares about the health of the Maltese and Gozitans, it should honour its commitments to the Maltese people and the European Commission and ensure this agreed and promised project is implemented," the PN spokespersons said. 

They added that this case – where over €90 million in total has been lost through withdrawn EU funds, required repayments, and abandoned private investment – clearly demonstrates how Labour’s incompetence, lack of direction, and internal crises are harming the Maltese population.

“While the Government found €70,000 for a fake consultancy for ex-minister Clayton Bartolo’s then-girlfriend, now wife, with the blessing of Minister Clint Camilleri, it cannot allocate funds for a project to reduce emissions. The Government is stingy with the people’s health but lavish with resources for its inner circle,” the PN concluded.