EU approves Malta's pandemic recovery and resilience strategy; $372M funds to be disbursed

The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen confirmed the recovery and resilience strategy of Malta on Thursday, where the European Union (EU) will disburse an amount of €316.4 million ($372 million) in funding through the Recovery and Resilience Facility. She visited the Prime Minister of Malta, Robert Abela, to discuss the nation's strategy to use EU money as the element of the country's COVID recovery plan.

As per Xinhua, Von der Leyen applauded the Maltese government's decision to utilise a substantial portion of the recovery money to fund the green operations in accordance with the EU's digital policy. During the news conference, she claimed that Malta's strategy was one of the best 'green' policies in the EU. Von der Leyen further accepted the measures of Malta's judiciary and prosecuting systems to enhance independence and effectiveness, as well as the prevention of money laundering. 

The vision of Malta's Prime Minister 

In the meantime, according to the Malta Independent website, Prime Minister Robert Abela stated that the money would be used to support Malta's moderate perspective for a better standard of living, reshaping the nation's infrastructure, guaranteeing Malta's education system to be one of the best in Europe, as well as assuring that the nation will be carbon negative by the year 2050. The plan also includes the evolution of government structures to a more democratic model.

Despite the COVID outbreak, Abela highlighted that his government's judicial system has evolved, noting that broad legislative improvements had taken place in the past 20 months. He also revealed proposals for investment in carbon reduction by building a carbon-neutral school, as well as monitoring the supply of more charging stations and the electrifying the public transportation of Malta. 

According to the European Commission, Malta's strategy commits 54% of its entire budget to climate-related initiatives. The money will also be utilised in the execution of the Valletta region's Sustainable Urban Mobility Scheme and the waste disposal system. Malta will also contribute 26% of its overall allocation to the initiatives that promote digital transformation. 

As per the Malta Independent, healthcare, social welfare, skills and education, technology, fuel efficiency, waste management, sustainable transportation, judicial independence and anti-corruption are all part of Malta's strategy. It also contains methods that address issues such as tax planning, inventiveness, and pension sufficiency and viability. The Commission will sanction some additional payments if the Council Implementing Decision's benchmarks and goals are met, indicating that the expenditures and improvements are being implemented effectively. 

(Image: AP)