Malta ‘At The Forefront’ To Ensure Rule Of Law Linked To EU Funds
Malta was “at the forefront” in pushing forward a proposal to link the disbursement of EU funds to member states’ respect for the rule of law, Prime Minister Robert Abela said.
“There was a heated debate during negotiations on whether to link member states’ access to EU funds to their respect of the rule of law and Malta was at the forefront in pushing these ideas forward,” Abela told a press conference.
“Not only weren’t we afraid of the rule of law being a criterion but we were on the forefront to ensure it should be a main criterion.”
“Some say Malta has a bad reputation but I disagree; during the negotiations, we showed that we are able to convince [member states] that we are a stable and successful country which is ready to implement reforms where needs be.”
The proposal to link EU funds to the rule of law has been included in the European Council’s final agreement, although it reportedly faced strong resistance from Hungary and Poland.
Malta has been allocated around €2.25 billion in EU funds for the next seven years, which includes €327 million in direct grants as part of a COVID-19 economic recovery package.
Several hundreds of millions in low-interest loans have also been made available for Malta, but Abela said he is still unsure whether these will be utilised or not.
Abela hailed this package as the largest one Malta has managed to negotiate since joining the EU, a success he said was down to the island’s ability to put forward solid and convincing arguments.
A full breakdown of the funds can be read here.
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