Malta has not yet submitted its operational programmes to the European Commission for consideration, Nationalist Party spokesmen said this morning.

Addressing a news conference, Marthese Portelli and Antoine Borg said these programmes were crucial as they identified the projects the government would be carrying out with the €1.128 billion allocated to Malta for 2014-2020.

Dr Portelli said it was worrying that 24 out of 28 member states had already submitted all their operational programmes. Malta still had to submit its programmes for consideration, analysis and approval by the Commission.

Mr Borg said the government should focus on more sectors which strengthened economic and social development for the country to continue to become a centre of excellence at an economic, social and environmental levels while remaining competitive.

The PN, the spokesmen said, was again offering to help the government for the country to continue to progress and use European funds for its development.

In a reply, the government the European Commission last week launched a partnership agreement for the 2014-2020 financial programme enabling Malta  to launch schemes for industry and job creation, environmental, educational and more sustainable transport projects and to continue to improve the health sector.

It noted that the Nationalist administration had only absorbed 33 per cent of the European funds for  2007-2013, which this government pushed up to nearly 60 per cent since March last year and which it aimed to fully by the end of next year.