By the end of this year Malta will have used 80% of the European funds from the funds for Malta 2014-2020, which compared to the 2007-2013 funds is 7% higher.
In a meeting in Brussels between the Parliamentary Secretary for European Funds Chris Bonett and European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms Elisa Ferreira, Malta was commended for its rate of implementation of EU funds allocated to Malta, which currently stands at 100% in terms of commitments and has already reached 80% in terms of payments made by Beneficiaries .
In the current cycle, Malta has implemented several investment projects in the environment, tourism, health, education, and other public infrastructure. Commissioner Ferreira also expressed her satisfaction at how Malta has managed to conclude the negotiations of all Operational Programmes related to the new round of Structural Funds by October, well in advance of the expected target of December 2022, making it possible to deploy these funds early in 2023.
During the meeting, Parliamentary Secretary Bonett and Commissioner Ferreira discussed the way forward for the EU’s Cohesion Policy and how Malta will continue to support its citizens through Cohesion Policy funds.
In a separate meeting with Céline Gauer, Director General of DG RECOVER, Parliamentary Secretary Chris Bonett discussed the implementation of Malta’s Recovery and Resilience Plan , where the Commission again acknowledged the progress Malta is making in the implementation of the Plan.
On Thursday, Parliamentary Secretary Bonett held meetings with Members of the REGI Committee of the European Parliament to share Malta’s perspective on the ongoing work in the REGI Committee and other relevant legislative work. Parliamentary Secretary Bonett expressed Malta’s views on how this work has an impact on the use and deployment of EU funds in Malta, with the key message being: flexibility in these very challenging times ensures that benefits are delivered on the ground for the citizens living in Malta and Gozo.
