Gozo is too close to the mainland to qualify for special financial treatment, according to a previously unseen report by the European Commission.
Tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, the EC study was originally presented to the government back in 2012, but was never made public.
The report’s conclusions had reached the previous Nationalist administration at a time when it was suggesting Gozo should be treated as a special economic “region” and be entitled to auxiliary financial packages.
In a legal document presented to the EC back in 2003, the PN government had called for “appropriate measures to ensure the reduction of disparities between Gozo and Malta”.
The situation in Gozo is similar to that in many other European islands
Despite this, the EC report concluded: “The situation in Gozo is similar to that in many other European islands. The development problems of Gozo can be effectively addressed within the same framework proposed by the Commission for the future [present] cohesion policy.”
The report, however, puts forward no specific suggestions, saying only that it would pay particular attention to the island’s development needs.
It also stated that the Commission had already put forward proposals, such as the introduction of a transitory regional status for islands like Gozo. In a detailed analysis of the island’s situation, the report says although Gozitans faced a number of economic and social hurdles, these were minimised by its relative close proximity to the mainland.
Although many Gozitans regularly complain about the five-kilometre commute across the local strait, the EC described the distance as “negligible” when compared to those imposed on other island regions.
Inhabitants of the Spanish Balearic islands, for instance, face a 20km crossing, while those living on the Danish island of Bornholm have to cross the 70 km Ystad channel for their daily needs.
Following up on the previous government’s declaration that “the economic performance of Gozo is significantly lower than that of Malta”, the Commission’s report argued that available figures did not offer a fair enough representation of the island’s economic performance.
This, it said, was because a large portion of Gozitans worked in Malta and not in Gozo.
The EC’s position was further compounded by the sister island’s relatively smooth handling of the economic crisis.
Gozo, the report highlighted, logged a steady decline in unemployment figures over the past five years, compared to the two per cent increase registered across the EU.
In fact, Gozo fared best in its category, with an unemployment rate of 7.4 per cent compared to a 30 per cent jobless rate on the Spanish island of Fuerteventura, last in the list of regional islands.
Last month, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had criticised the previous administration for “not managing to convince” the Commission to consider Gozo as a special economic region.
In a spirited public address in the Gozitan capital, Victoria, Dr Muscat had said that the island “deserved better”.
Reacting, Opposition leader Simon Busuttil had said the issue was not whether or not Gozo was considered a region, but how much money had been allocated to it.
Some 10 per cent of the €1.2 billion EU budget allocated to Malta for the current budgetary period will be invested in Gozo.