High population puts Malta at EU funding disadvantage

Maltese MEP Simon Busuttil has called on the European Commission to give greater consideration to Malta's high population density when determining how EU funds should be distributed.

Dr Busuttil was speaking at a meeting of the Regional Development Committee of the European Parliament which discussed a report being prepared by Italian MEP Alfonso Andria on the new Cohesion Fund for the years 2007 to 2013.

This fund, from which Malta will benefit, supports transport and environmental projects.

Dr Busuttil criticised the way in which the Commission allocates financial assistance under this fund. He said the current system of distribution was based on the assumption that regions with a low population density were at a disadvantage and therefore should be compensated with a higher per capita funding.

There was no problem with helping regions with a low population density, he stressed. However, this assumption also led to a situation where an extremely high population density, as in Malta's case, was considered as a great advantage rather than a disadvantage, thus resulting in significantly lower funding.

Dr Busuttil said this was clearly an anomaly and an unintended effect of the current system for allocating EU funds and called upon the Commission to remedy the anomaly. Otherwise, he said, one would be unintentionally penalising countries such as Malta, which had a population density that was several times greater than the EU average.

Replying, the rapporteur, Mr Andria, said he appreciated and understood the arguments brought forward by Dr Busuttil and would take them into account in his final report.