Malta to get €76m for rural development

The environment and agriculture in Malta will receive a €76 million shot in the arm from the EU over the coming seven years.

Details of the annual allocation for Malta were released yesterday by the European Commission following a decision on the EU's annual rural development budget for the upcoming financial period.

The decision follows the agreement reached by the European Council at the end of last year on the financial perspectives. 2007 will see the biggest allocation, amounting to more than €12.4 million.

The EU budget approved last December by the European Council dedicates €69.75 billion to be used for rural development by 27 member states, including Romania and Bulgaria.

The amount of money to be received by Malta was based on various criteria including a reserved amount allocated to certain regions under the convergence criteria (Objective 1 members), the historical share of each member state under the previous budget and particular situations and needs.

Mariann Fischer Boel, EU Commissioner responsible for rural development, said these funds can be used to increase the competitiveness of the agri-food and forestry sectors and are a vital element in supporting environmental projects in the countryside. This money can also be used outside of the traditional farming industry, to help create new jobs and new businesses in rural areas.

"We talk a lot about creating growth and jobs and this is a concrete example of EU money doing just that."

Apart from supporting the farming community to develop their infrastructure to become more competitive and adapt to the new EU market needs, the EU funds will also be used in projects to improve animal welfare, to protect biodiversity and the environment, village renewal and to provide basic services such as providing childcare facilities to help women re-enter the employment market in the environmental and agriculture sectors.