Nearly 100 Gozitan enterprises have benefitted from an EU-funded scheme to create jobs on the sister island, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said yesterday.

Speaking at a Nationalist Party activity as part of the European Parliament election campaign, Dr Gonzi said 264 Gozitans found work thanks to this Employment Aid Scheme, through which €1.23 million were spent. The scheme assists employers in the form of a subsidy on part of the wages and NI contributions for a period of time.

The government had also assisted Gozitan students because it recognised the hardship they had to face in studying at the University in Malta. Students had to rent a flat in Malta and commute between the two islands regularly.

Students - 780 so far - have benefitted from an extra €1,000 to help them in their daily needs.

Dr Gonzi said there was not one single project in Gozo which had not been done by the PN. The Labour Party has not yet made the commitment the PN did - that 10 per cent of EU funds will be dedicated to Gozo.

The Prime Minister condemned the way the PL took advantage of the medical condition of former PN MP Louis Refalo who attended a PL activity in Gozo last week.

He said the PL EP candidates could not be trusted, based on their track record. The Sunday Times survey showed that PN MEPs only stood out, he said, adding that all the PL MEPs did was try to stop an EU project worth €17 million.

"The PN does not only have the vision but the conviction of what it can do in the country's best interest on a domestic and European level," he concluded.