The brouhaha about whether Malta has received more, or less, funds from the EU than it has contributed to it, continues to evolve. It started with a public statement way back in February by the PL leader. Over a month later he was then decreed mistaken by Ivan Camilleri from Brussels using, predominantly in actual figures table format, data sourced from Malta's Permanent Representation in Brussels. And now Charles Mangion gives his own contrasting interpretation (March 7).

But the stick is possibly being grasped at the wrong end by both sides to the argument. While actual figures are useful, doesn't funds flow have more to do with the matter?

My graphical representation of this flow shows anything but a soothing picture: an almost perfectly pyramidical shape over the years from 2001 to 2009, one that in the least would be cause for some heart-rending worry to most business entities.

Mine is not of course an original approach to the issue. Several years ago economist Bernard Gauci wrote interestingly about this particular problem characterising EU funding, a problem existing with the EU from years before we joined.

I will be commenting more about this topic, and other EU-related economic issues, in a chapter to be contributed to a coming EDRC book about Malta: Five Years On From Accession, being published around April or May.