Members of the European Parliament have agreed to give Malta an additional €15 million in EU funding towards asylum, migration, integration and internal security.
This is over and above the €1.12 billion EU funding package for Malta negotiated by the past administration for the period 2014-2020.
The €15 million is part of a nearly €80 million tranche allocated to various areas falling under home affairs. It comes after months of negotiations between EU institutions.
In all, €53 million will go towards external borders and visas, €17 million for matters related to asylum, migration and integration, and €9 million for the police force.
Nationalist MEP Roberta Metsola welcomed the vote in a statement, saying that while the Nationalist MEPs would continue to press for concrete solidarity with Malta that went beyond funding, “it was very satisfying to see that after all the tough negotiations over the past months, an agreement was reached”.
“Over the past months, we have worked hard to ensure that Malta’s amount is not cut and that our specific scenario is taken into consideration,” she said.
“We have managed to convince MEPs to grant close to €15 million in additional ad hoc funds that have been included to help cater for the specific circumstances faced by Malta.
“The ball is now in the government’s court to ensure that the funds allocated are not wasted and are used by Malta in the best possible way,” she added.
Migration, Dr Metsola continued, was not an issue that could be dealt with simply by throwing money at it.
It must be approached by taking into consideration all aspects of the issue.
The funds would also be used to boost Malta’s border management systems, helping save lives, improving standards, introducing better integration measures and aiding the return process, she said.
Deputy Prime Minister Louis Grech and Parliamentary Secretary for EU Presidency 2017 Ian Borg yesterday alsowelcomed the injection of European funds.
Dr Borg said that since the agreement was clinched during the Council of Ministers, he and Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia had worked tirelessly on the programming of these EU funds so that they could be absorbed by the Armed Forces of Malta and the police force.