PM mum on contribution

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi would not say how much Malta will be forking out towards an EU fund aimed at helping developing countries fight climate change.

Although Malta has made its calculations - expected to run into millions of euros a year up to 2020 - Dr Gonzi refused to divulge Malta's costs, saying: "The final figures still depend on a number of factors and on which formula is finally chosen by the EU".

Nine member states from Eastern Europe, led by Poland, objected that the formula to be used by the EU to determine each country's contribution would be based on polluting emissions. Instead, they want it to be based on gross domestic product in order to reflect the economic situation of different member states.

Dr Gonzi does not think this is an issue for Malta because its projections show that the difference between the two scenarios is minimal.

Asked to state whether Malta's contribution would be less or more than €10 million a year, Dr Gonzi said he was not prepared to give details. "We have calculated our figures precisely and we think we can afford our contribution. However, we are not yet in a position to give any details as our contribution is still on the negotiation table."

The 27 EU member states, meeting in a summit in Brussels, agreed that helping poorer countries tackle climate change would require €100 billion a year by 2020. The EU is now prepared to foot €50 billion of that annual figure. No targets for individual EU nations were announced and the initial funding would be voluntary.

Details of how the burden would be shared will be worked out later by a working group although individual member states already have a precise idea of how much money they would have to pay. The EU will take its offer - which is conditional on what other rich nations are prepared to offer - to the UN Climate Change conference in Copenhagen in December, which will try to reach a global deal on lowering global warming.

During the EU summit, Dr Gonzi used his time between official meetings to lobby with other member states on two fronts: solidarity on illegal immigration and Malta's bid to host the EU's new agency on asylum.

After one-on-one discussions with leaders of various countries, including the UK, Germany, Greece, Holland and Ireland, Dr Gonzi said the number of member states showing an interest in the Commission's inter-EU resettlement programme drawn up for Malta was on the rise.