Malta successfully used one hundred percent of the European funds allocated to it for the period 2013-2020, which period technically closed last December.
Prime Minister Robert Abela announced this when he was speaking about the use of European funds at the inauguration of the Grand Master’s Palace. The Prime Minister reiterated that this augurs well for the period we are in after the current Government negotiated the largest package of European funds for our country and thus Malta now has double the European funds it had before.
When the negotiations on the package of funds for the current period were ongoing, the Government did not stop working to invest the package of European funds that it had at its disposal. With these funds they have now all been absorbed for the benefit of Maltese and Gozitan citizens. The €1.1 billion for the period 2013-2020 was invested in capital projects, social projects and other programs. Among them with the investment of €925.5 million, 128 investments or projects were made whose goal was to make our economy not only more competitive but also innovative.
Among these were the cohesion funds with which infrastructural investments were made in education, in health, in culture and innovation, in renewable energy and competitiveness. To these are added investments made in our maritime and road infrastructure, together with other funds that have been allocated to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic, as we have successfully done. With the investment in these areas it reached €673 million.
This while the Government has invested around €280 million in more social priorities and in skills, to help more people build on their abilities, find better work while improving the work of our institutions. In this area alone, 54 projects were carried out, three major schemes and a financial instrument in the field of education. It is estimated that just under 150,000 people have benefited from opportunities or projects carried out with this fund around Malta and Gozo.
These do not include projects and work that has been going on in recent years with the recovery and resilience funds. The rest of the funds were funding towards programs such as Erasmus and other initiatives. The Prime Minister reiterated the Government’s commitment that while continuing to reap the opportunities for our country, it will continue to invest in people and carry out more work for the Maltese and Gozitan people.
Photo: OPM
