The number of projects expected to receive EU structural funding for the 2007-2013 period looks as though it will far exceed the 95 approved in the 2004-2006 period.

To date, 21 European Social Fund (ESF) projects have been proposed by Maltese organisations so far: Five for ICT under Priority Access I, 16 for lifelong learning and continuous education under Priority Access II. A further 70 projects have been proposed for funding under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Calls for the first batch of the 2007-2013 projects (€120 million under ERDF and €15 million under ESF) were issued in July, with submissions to be made by September. These are now being evaluated.

"The process is cumbersome - but it cannot really be any other way because you are talking about public money," Marlene Bonnici, the director general of the Planning and Priorities Coordination Division (PPCD), said.

The first step is to check the eligibility criteria, asking for clarification where necessary. A committee chaired by Ms Bonnici then evaluates the eligible projects and ranks the successful ones in order of merit.

"There is a massive amount of information to plough through. In some cases, we need to consult external experts. And of course, every single step has to be documented in detail to ensure accountability and transparency," she said.

"We hope to be able to conclude some applications by year end but many will require further information and clarification or the results of studies before a final decision can be taken.

"The ranking and final selection will be determined based on a set of priorities approved by a monitoring committee which includes the government, members of the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development, NGOs and the European Commission on July 19 just before the first batch of calls were issued."

The projects which will finally be chosen are those that help reach the set of objectives which government agreed with the European Commission.

Malta's objectives are outlined and explained in two documents called Operational Programmes I and II. These are strategic documents which determine how Malta intends to invest the Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund. These documents were approved by the Commission last June.

The first Operational Programme focuses on how Malta intends to spend its European Regional Development Fund and Cohesion Fund allocation. The ERDF and Cohesion Fund will be mainly used for infrastructural and environmental projects, encouraging research and innovation, sustainable tourism, improved transport networks and environment infrastructure, among other areas.

The second Operational Programme, focuses on the European Social Fund. The aims of this document are pinned to the Lisbon Agenda, creating more and better jobs while developing Malta's human resources.

For the first time, households will be able to apply for ERDF funds to make their homes energy efficient. ESF funds are also expected to contribute towards childcare costs.

"It is far more effective to choose sectors than to scatter the money too thinly and not make any impact," she said.

"This does not mean that sectors or areas which don't feature in the programmes are not important or are not being addressed by government. However, Structural Fund priorities are chosen in line with the principles of financial concentration, meaning that the programmes must target specific areas."

The projects also need to bear in mind the point of Cohesion Policy: To strengthen the least developed regions (those whose GDP per capita is under 75 per cent of the EU average), through financial assistance.

"The funds are allocated to Malta as a result of tough negotiations and specific criteria. And once they're allocated, the funds are not a blank cheque but must be invested according to a strategy drawn up by member states and approved by the European Commission. This strategy is complemented by programmes which explain how funds will be allocated to different projects."

The next batch of calls will be issued in the near future but there will be considerable pressure on the Project Selection Committee to deal with all the projects on its plate.

The projects under the 2004-2006 programme remain open until the end of next year. By then, all the money has to be spent, all the invoices submitted and paid and all claims made for reimbursement from the funds.

Once projects are approved, a time-table has to be set up to spend a proportion of the funds every year, a process coordinated and monitored by the PPCD. All the 2004 allocation (€20.25 million) was duly used up by last year, while the 2005 allocation (€28.8 million) was reached some months ago.

"The 2004-2006 programmes were a real learning experience which we hope will make it much easier for the 2007-2013 ones as we are in a much better position to advise on project management," she said.

The PPCD, part of the Office of the Prime Minister, started its work well ahead of EU accession. It began by managing and coordinating the Pre-Accession Funds allocated by the EU. By 2004, everything was ready to go, the first strategic documents were drawn up and the first calls for Structural and Cohesion Fund projects were issued in February 2004.

In all, Malta received €21.96 million from the Cohesion Fund and €64.4 million in Structural Funds for 2004-2006, resulting in €116.96 million in all with government co-financing.

The country was also allocated €2 million in inter-regional ERDF funds through the Interreg programmes, but managed to double the amount of EU funds obtained because of the very high participation rate of Maltese organisations in collaboration with European partner organisations.

Some ERDF and ESF projects are still ongoing. The former are aimed at infrastructure like roads and other types of transport infrastructure, environmental infrastructure like waste management, sewage treatment and air monitoring, and educational infrastructure such as the extension of the training centre for the Employment and Training Corporation at Hal Far and the child-care centre at the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology.

ESF, on the other hand, is aimed at soft projects like human resource development, with €9.5 million spent on training and workplace exposure.

"For example, 460 people registering as unemployed were trained and allocated to workplaces. Around half of them - 285 - are now gainfully employed," Ms Bonnici said.

"We interviewed a number of them afterwards and they were very grateful to have a chance. Some of them had been registering for years. It is wrong to assume that they are content to be unemployed. Some of them are just putting a brave face on the situation."

The ESF funds for 2004-2006 were also used to help women returnees through courses at MCAST and the ETC. It is not only government entities that can benefit from them.

NGOs like SOS-Malta also managed to get projects approved, while the Malta Tourism Authority and Malta Enterprise used funds for training for the public and private sector and a training needs analysis respectively.

Currently, 161 manufacturing firms, 53 tourism enterprises, 141 agri-food enterprises and 15 fisheries enterprises are benefiting from aid schemes co-funded by the Structural Funds.

During 2004-2006, the Structural Funds also focused on agriculture, over and above the funds available through the Common Agricultural Policy, and fishing; fishing port facilities were recently unveiled in Marsaxlokk.

Agriculture and fisheries no longer form part of the Structural Funds for 2007-2013. Instead, they are being addressed by different EU funding programmes which are managed by the Ministry for Agriculture and Fisheries.

"As a guideline, it is helpful to remember that the idea of the funds is not to replace government spending. So the funds cannot be used to pay people's wages but should only be used to pay works, services and supply contracts signed for specific projects," Ms Bonnici explained.

"Of course, this means that the money often ends up with private providers and contractors for works, services and supplies so it is a bit misleading when people say that these funds only end up in the government's pockets."

Nothing is written in stone. If a project is simply not working out or if it does not actually need all its forecast budget, funds can be re-directed to other more successful ones - or kept aside in case others require more funds (after approval by the Department of Contracts).

"We had three calls for ESF projects to use up surplus money resulting from savings on activities," she said.

Just as important is evaluating outcomes once the projects are completed.

"It is not that difficult as most cases have specific targets like a number of roads to complete, the number of SMEs to support, the number of unemployed to find jobs for or a reduction in sewage outflows," she said.

"So far, most projects reached their targets; some training ones actually surpassed them!"

Further information can be obtained from: www.ppcd.gov.mt; info.ppcd@gov.mt

2007-2013

A new strategic framework is in place, which will set the priorities for the disbursement of the Structural Funds and Cohesion Fund budget for this period. This consists of three main documents: The National Strategic Framework Document, which sets Malta's priorities in relation to the expenditure of Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund. This is complemented by two documents, called Operational Programme (OP) I and II:

OPI: EU - €728 million
National funds - €128.50 million
OPII (ESF): EU - €112 million
National funds - €19.8 million

Total: €840 million

An additional €15 million is being allocated to Malta through the Territorial Cooperation Programmes, which are funded by the European Regional Development Fund. This brings the total EU funds component of the Cohesion Policy 2007-2013 budget to €855 million.

The PPCD has prepared very detailed guidelines to support the submission of application forms, explaining the eligibility and selection criteria for projects.

All public entities and local councils can apply - but the projects should not merely use financing for what they already do, as noted above.

Non-profit making NGOs can apply for projects that fall within their mandate and as long as they can provide the co-financing element. But care is taken to ensure that they do not distort the market where other providers are active. The NGOs have to put up the co-financing element and must not make money out of the project. Once the NGO law comes into force, only organisations registered with the commissioner will be eligible. Those NGOs already awarded funds will need to comply once the law is in force.

"It is very important that commercial companies do not attempt to tap funds by setting up a non-profit making foundation, which would feed funds back to it. The Project Selection Committee will ensure that an NGO is bona fide and will have the financial, technical and administrative capacity to deal with the project."

Individuals or the private sector cannot apply directly for funds to PPCD, but will be able to participate in funding schemes run by public entities such as Malta Enterprise.

In fact, Malta Enterprise has just launched a call for applications from manufacturing and industrial companies wishing to participate in its ECO-Innovations Actions Aid Scheme, which will support measures involving energy saving and renewable energy solutions (www.maltaenterprise.com). This is funded by Structural Funds 2004-2006.

20071122-business--esf2.jpgImproving people's lives

The European Social Fund is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Malta started to benefit from these important funds three years ago and so far over 7,000 people have participated in over 50 projects.

The projects have created - or retained - employment for 1,000 people.

Saviour Gilson: 56, JB Stores
A total of 460 people aged over 40 were trained, of whom 300 found work. Mr Gilson had been working in a factory for 30 years but was laid off. He was one of almost 50 on the TEES course run by the Employment and Training Corporation and as far as he knows, all of them found work. He found work with JB Stores and has now been there for two years.

"I got my life back. The staff there is young but they really welcomed me. Those who experience the tragedy of being unemployed should not lose hope. With TEES, one way or the other, you will find a job."

Sandra Cutajar, 43, V.J. Salomone Accessories
Courses were organised to help women get back to work after careeer breaks. They were helped to get up to speed on computer skills among other things. Other courses trained women to become carers for the elderly and helped to prepare child minders.

Mark Mizzi, 36, Technoline
Courses were aimed at improving companies' chances of survival. Mr Mizzi attended a course on enhancing the competitiveness of SMEs. Malta Enterprise had several schemes.

Alfred Pace, 59, White Taxis Amalgamated
Those in tourism and support services benefitted from training run through the Malta Tourism Authority. Taxi drivers were taught about the places on tourist routes; hotel and restaurant staff were helped with marketing.

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