The fact that Gozo will be considered as a region at NUTS 3 level by the EU was a step in the right direction, however Gozo will not be directly eligible to EU funds as the majority of the people had initially believed, John Magro, president of the Gozo Business Chamber, said yesterday.
"It is definitely a positive thing for Gozo to be considered as a region at NUTS 3, but one would have to see the results of the ongoing discussions about Gozo between the EU and Malta to arrive at the real meaning of a NUTS 3 level in terms of financial aid," Mr Magro said during a news conference in Xewkija.
Having such a definition for Gozo will not, on its own, help to solve Gozo's problems, he said
Funds will be allocated to Malta and Gozo as one unit. It will be up to the Maltese authorities to see how these funds will be allocated and spent.
Mr Magro explained that the Gozo Business Chamber had first awaited the reaction of Government and Opposition on the conclusions of the negotiations between the EU and Malta on the Regional Policy Chapter before making its (the chamber's) views known publicly.
In a statement at the beginning of this month, Foreign Minister Joe Borg and Gozo Minister Giovanna Debono said that the Single Programming Document would explain how Malta was planning to spend EU funds after joining the EU, there will be a separate priority entitled The Regional Development of Gozo which will deal with Gozo's special needs.
"Currently, consultations were going on with the European Commission about the measures - to be negotiated separately - that would provide for the specific needs of Gozo, in particular its double insularity, its fragile environment, the small size of the island and its population density as well as the extremely limited amount of its resources," Dr Borg and Mrs Debono had said.
In order to find out more about the implications of what defining Gozo as a region at NUTS 3 level means, the GBC has written to Michel Barnier, EU Commissioner for Regional Policy.
Mr Magro said that Mr Barnier informed the GBC that the Maltese government had expressed its interest in considering Gozo as a priority to the EU and that the government would set up a Regional Committee to see to Gozo's needs.
Mr Magro said that the amount of funds Malta could get from the EU depended on how Malta's GDP compared with the EU average.
"While Malta's GDP was equivalent to 55 per cent of the EU average, Gozo's GDP was 71 per cent of Malta's.
"This means that Gozo deserved funds, first to come in line with Malta's GDP and eventually to reach the EU GDP average. If the government truly believed in the principles and spirit of the EU, then in the forthcoming budget Finance Minister John Dalli should direct more funds to Gozo than it has been getting so far.
"The authorities have not been giving Gozo the same attention they gave it years ago when new investment was attracted to Gozo. This lack of attention had led to uncertainty among Gozo's business community," Mr Magro said.
The GBC has asked Mr Barnier whether Gozo will get any funds in the eventuality that Malta reaches the EU GDP average and is looking forward to Mr Barnier's reply.
Answering questions by reporters on whether Gozo's standard of living gave the lie to Gozo's GDP, Mr Magro said the EU used a country's GDP and not its standard of living as a benchmark to see which country and region was most deserving of funds.
Mr Magro totally disagreed that Gozo's GDP was lower than Malta's because the black economy was more widespread than in Malta.
Gozo's GDP was computed by the National Statistics Office and such statistics were based on EU criteria. Gozo's GDP was lower than Malta's, primarily because Gozo had a higher percentage of pensioners than Malta, he said.