Brussels to discuss Ta' Cenc petition

A plea for the preservation of Ta' Ċenċ, Gozo, made by Din l-Art Helwa on behalf of 10,000 Maltese petitioners, will be discussed on Thursday morning in Brussels by the European Parliament's Petitions Committee.

Another petition was filed by Alternativa Demokratika, on the designation of Ta’ Cenc (Malta) as a Special Area of Conservation and as a Special Protection Area and the EP will be treating the two petitions as one.

Din l-Art Helwa pleaded for the preservation of Ta' Cenc site, which, it said, was an area rich in archaeological remains, with diverse flora and fauna.

Although parts of it were proposed for Natura 2000 status, the lack of quick measures in this direction would encourage large scale development with irreversible detrimental effects on the natural environment. The petitioner asks the European Parliament to intervene and support the steps to have the site declared a Natura 2000 protected area.

The European Commission has said in its reply that the Maltese authorities recently indicated that they were also considering proposing the siteas a potential site of community interest.

But Din l-Art Helwa argued that the designation was not sufficient and the lack of quick measures in would encourage large scale development with irreversible detrimental effects on the natural environment.

Din l- Art Helwa called on the European Parliament to intervene and support the designation of the area as a Natura 2000 site.

AD asked the European Parliament to intervene with the Maltese authorities so that the Ta’ Cenc site (Malta) be designated as a Special Area of Conservation and Special Protection Area.

It claimed that the national authorities would lack interest in having this site protected under an EC Directive.

According to the petitioner, the Malta Environment and Planning Authority would be more inclined towards the development of a part of the site than towards its protection.