Brussels asks for information

The college of EU commissioners is today expected to recommend the start of infringement procedures against Malta over the development zones extension, approved by Parliament, last July.

Commission sources told The Times yesterday the Commission will be issuing a letter of formal notice to the Maltese authorities following a complaint filed by Alternattiva Demokratika and a number of individuals last year, claiming that the government failed to comply with the requirements of the Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive (SEA) when amending the development plan for land use in Malta.

The sources explained that the Commission has been following the case for a long time and will be issuing its formal letter in order to compile more information on the matter.

"At this stage we are not saying that Malta acted illegally. We are just formally asking the Maltese authorities for clarification we deem necessary in order to decide whether Malta breached the SEA directive or not. Malta will have two months to reply and after receiving the information we will decide whether to issue a reasoned opinion, the second stage of formal infringement procedures, or to drop the case," the sources said.

According to the SEA Directive, plans or projects that could have substantial environmental effects should be subject to an impact assessment. This did not happen before the development zones extension exercise with the Maltese authorities insisting it was not necessary.

The government said it had legal advice indicating that the procedures adopted by Mepa are regular as the preparations for the rationalisation exercise was a continuation of a process that started before the SEA Directive became effective in Malta.

In a five-page dossier presented to the Commission, AD argues that the zones extension exercise should have been subject to the SEA Directive because of its impact on transport, water use and limited open spaces.

The Maltese court last February dismissed an application filed by AD in a bid to stop Mepa from issuing development permits in the areas included in the new development zones.

The court found that the extension process had taken place on the basis of provisions of the Planning Development Act and that the SEA Directive did not apply to this exercise as "the preparatory work for the changes of the development zones had commenced before July 2004", when the directive was transposed into Maltese law.

Commission sources said the issue will also be raised during talks to be held in Malta next week between officials from the Environment Directorate General and the Maltese government.