A European Commission statement had revealed that Gozo was not being granted special status by the EU, Labour MEP Edward Scicluna said today.
He said that a commission reply to a parliamentary question he had tabled in September stated that the Maltese government did not mandate the Commission to report on the economic and social situation of Gozo in advance of negotiations on the EU budgetary framework for 2007-2013.
Moreover, the Commission dismissed the value of Declaration 36, annexed to Malta's accession treaty to the EU, which emphasised the special status of Gozo.
"The Commission's reply states not only that the declaration is a 'unilateral declaration of Malta' but also that any future analysis of Gozo's economic and social situation will be made in a purely EU context, Prof Scicluna said.
The declaration was agreed by the Maltese government and the then Head of the MIC Dr. Simon Busutill, had written that it would "ensure that Gozo's specific needs are assessed before every new EU budget is agreed upon."
Speaking in response, Prof Scicluna said:
"Back in 2003 prior to the referendum on EU accession, both the Government and the MIC promised Gozitans that Declaration 36 would secure Gozo's economic future after Malta joined the EU. The Commission's reply proves that, despite what they claimed, Gozo has no special EU status.
"Either the Nationalists were intentionally misleading Gozitans prior to the EU referendum or else they were just incompetent. Their treasured Declaration on Gozo is not worth the paper it's written on."
"The result is that Gozo has suffered because it has been starved of the investment given to similar island regions in the EU and which it had been promised. Since Gozo has no special status the government cannot give it preferential treatment because it is bound by strict state aid rules.
"The economic gap between Gozo and Malta has increased since 2004 and is increasing. Once again, the Government has failed Gozitans. Safeguarding the economic future of Gozo is one of my main priorities and I will fight for Gozo to be treated fairly in the upcoming EU budget negotiations".