European Environment and Maritime Affairs Commissioner Karmenu Vella has defended attending controversial White Flag events, saying requests to attend the organisation’s initiatives had been “assessed based on their contribution”.
The White Flag initiative came under fire following media reports that local companies had paid up to €25,000 each to be associated with the ‘plastic-free’ beaches that were cleaned up by the organisation behind the venture.
White Flag International had defended itself against the claims, saying it had been “misunderstood”.
“We were surprised with the false accusations because it is obvious that no profound research was done,” a spokesman had told Times of Malta.
Mr Vella attended Malta’s White Flag campaign launch in March, according to the Commission’s website.
An important step in the fight against waste at sea
Replying to a question by MEP Francis Zammit Dimech, Mr Vella said the Commission’s participation in these events should be considered in the context of the promotion of the Strategy for Plastic, “which is an important step in the fight against waste at sea”.
The PN MEP asked if due diligence had been carried out on the organisation and if the Commission still supported the White Flag initiative after the controversy emerged.
Read: European Commission asked to look into White Flag initiative
In his answer, the European Commissioner said the Commission recognised the role that private labels played in bringing awareness when they participated in discussions against waste at sea.
The Commission also had no evidence that EU funds had been allocated for the White Flag initiative, Mr Vella said.
In a reaction, Dr Zammit Dimech said the Maltese government needed to do much more to address waste management.
“One cannot expect to collect waste from a beach and erect a white flag and solve the issue,” he said.
Other small islands in the Mediterranean, such as Pantelleria and Lampedusa, had become or were in the process of becoming free from single-use plastics, Dr Zammit Dimech noted.