FOI and Chamber express disappointment at 'minuscule' EU funds

by Anthony Manduca

A high level delegation from the Malta Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Industry visiting Brussels has expressed its disappointment at the minuscule amount of European Union pre-accession funds available to Malta. The delegation, which went on a fact finding trip in Brussels between 29-31 May had a number of meetings with the European Commission and augured that ways and means of increasing these funds be found by the Commission.

A statement given to The Malta Business Weekly by the FOI and the Chamber of Commerce about the Brussels trip said: "A common theme throughout the different meetings was the Brussels contention that the Maltese economy is much better prepared for the rigours of membership,

especially when compared to the applicants of central and eastern Europe. In the Commission's opinion, this seems to necessitate much less pre-accession funds for Malta.

"In response to this, the Maltese delegation highlighted their disappointment at the minuscule amount of pre-accession funds available to Malta and augured that ways and means of increasing these funds be found by the Commission. The issue of pre-accession funding had to be kept in mind against a background of the inevitable 'compliance' costs that adopting the acquis would bring about. Such compliance costs would have to be absorbed in one way or another.

"The Maltese officials highlighted their belief that the European Union should be aware of Malta's needs, and the constraints which Malta's small size inevitably bring about. The European Commission should take this into account and try to make the rapprochment process as painless as possible. The two bodies will be identifying ways and means of accessing additional funding in the pre-accession stage."

During the delegation's visit to Brussels, favourable comments on the progress of Malta's negotiations with the EU were invariably expressed from the Commission's side.

The FOI and Chamber said it was interesting to note an increasing amount of interest from the Commission's side on the situation in Malta, especially when compared to the level of interest shown by these same officials on previous business delegations to Brussels.

"All the parties we met, from the European Commission to UNICE and EUROCHAMBRES, were very eager to listen to the private sector's views on the areas which are being discussed with the Maltese authorities. In addition, in various instances the Maltese delegation were welcomed by a relatively large number of officials. Discussions were frank and cordial, with both sides acknowledging the major challenges ahead of us.

"Overall, this increased interest in Malta points towards a deepening of the relationship with the Union, especially as the legislation identified by the government in the National Programme for the Adoption of the Acquis starts coming on stream. It is now important that the consultation process on this new legislation continues and is strengthened as the pace continues," the FOI and Chamber said.

During their three day stay in Brussels, members of the Maltese delegation had a number of different meetings. These included meetings with various European Commission Directorate Generals (such as taxation, enterprise, economic affairs, competition and internal market) and the Commission Enlargement Task Force for Malta, as well as with the Economic and Social Committee (ECOSOC), the Cypriot and Estonian Delegations to Brussels, the Union of Industrial and Employers' Confederations of Europe (UNICE) and the Association of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry (EUROCHAMBRES).

The Delegation also took the opportunity to meet Malta's Ambassador to Brussels, Victor Camilleri and the Rt. Hon. Mark Watts, member of the European Parliament (MEP) and vice-chairman of the Joint EU-Malta Parliamentary Committee. Mr Watts is also the British shadow MEP for Enlargement and Malta for the UK government.

This visit was deemed to be of crucial importance to the two organisations, especially in view of the current stage of negotiations on EU membership between Malta and the EU. While receiving first hand information from a number of different sources, the Chamber and FOI officials also had the opportunity to discuss the views of their respective organisations on a number of issues.

The visit to Brussels was co-ordinated by Dr Leonard Mizzi, director of the Malta Business Bureau (MBB) and the EU Help Desk. The FOI and Chamber said that the importance of such initiatives has already been stressed on a number of occasions. The MBB has offered its logistical and co-ordination support to a number of member and non-member groupings wishing to initiate such fact finding and lobbying visits.

The delegation was jointly led by John E. Sullivan and Joe Zammit Tabona, Presidents of the two organisations and also included Reginald Fava (senior vice-president - Chamber), Dr Andr„ Camilleri (vice-president - FOI), Anthony Borg Cardona (director general - Chamber), Edwin Calleja (secretary general - FOI) and Simon Lee Barberi (EU Help Desk - Malta Business Bureau).