EU delegation 'encouraged' by female employment measures

A top EU delegation left Malta yesterday "encouraged" by government initiatives and incentives to boost female employment.

One of the visiting officials said Malta was one of the best performing EU countries in the implementation of the National Reform Programme (NRP) which aims to meet the Lisbon Agenda objectives.

"It's a really good NRP, in absolute terms, and not just EU. On the whole, I'm rather encouraged by what I've seen," Jan Koopman, the European Commission's director for enterprise and industry, told The Times in an interview.

Mr Koopman was heading a 10-man delegation that probed the economy and industry in connection with the second edition of the NRP.

The EU is not yet on course to reach the targets it laid down in its 2000 Lisbon Agenda. As a result, each member state is pursuing its own national strategy in a bid to boost progress.

The NRP document spells out the key priority areas to improve Malta's economic performance including the sustainability of public finances, improving competitiveness, boosting employment creation, reforming the educational system and improving the environment. It also sets time frames for meeting these targets.

The second progress report which must be submitted by October 15 will be analysed by the Commission before being submitted for approval at the EU Council.

The EU made a very positive assessment of Malta's first NRP last year because it was structured in a very operational manner and detailed with budgets and timelines, Mr Koopman said.

The EU was concerned, however, about the low female employment rate.

"You have cultural and historical reasons and you can't change the world overnight but I'm encouraged by some of the recent statistics, which show a significant increase in the enrolment rate of women at secondary schools and universities," he said.

Good and affordable childcare as well as a return guarantee in the public sector to facilitate the reintegration of women who had children were essential, the EU official explained.

"You need a comprehensive policy to stimulate the rate of (female) employment, and Malta is building it. The size of the challenge is enormous. No member state can afford to have half of its population outside the labour force.

"Culture results from systems and practices and once these things start changing, you will have women who will want to go out and work."

Malta should make full use of the European Social Fund, which promotes female participation.

On the other hand, Malta is performing well in areas like financial services, which, at 11 per cent of GDP, is higher than most EU countries. He complimented the IT investment infrastructure, which has lured companies like the Dubai-based Tecom Investments which is to build Smart City.

Though Malta is at the bottom rung where research and innovation are concerned, in a year's time it has set an ambitious target to increase the level from 0.18 per cent to 0.75 per cent of GDP.

The financial services sector was underlined as one of Malta's best practices so far, taking on a growing importance in the economy during the past decade.

Mr Koopman underlined the need for Malta to invest in alternative energies - of the 25 EU states Malta is the only country which produces electricity uniquely from fuel.

Communications Minister Censu Galea, who is responsible for Malta's NRP, held a meeting with the EU delegation on Sunday evening.

"The EU is happy with our work but we can't afford to slow down. If we don't implement these plans, we're bound to face problems," he warned.