Former PN MEP candidate says Malta could get €36 million less in agricultural funds

Former PN MEP candidate Peter Agius has said that Malta could get €36 million less in EU funds for agriculture than it did in its last financial package allocation.

The funds in question, he said, deal with the Common Agricultural Policy Funds.

Speaking with this newsroom, Agius said that from his calculations on official documents and informal contacts in Brussels “it is clear that Maltese farmers will be the first of many to suffer from the government’s incompetence in negotiating EU funding responding to Malta’s European aspiration. We are looking at a cut of about €36 million when compared to the package secured by former Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi.”

“As an MEP candidate I visited several farms around the islands, where you can see the need for further investment of EU funds for our local production to catch up with technological developments and for our local farmers to face with conviction international competition. If my calculations are proved correct and the government accepts a €36 million reduction, then local agricultural production will go an inch closer to its forced demise. Maltese consumers will pay the price for that through higher prices and reduced choice of fresh products.”

Last January, Agius had raised issues of concern on Malta’s power in negotiations on its EU financial package for 2021-2027.

In January Agius had expressed his concern about the impact of the recent changes to the Cabinet when Malta continues its negotiations on its package of funds in the upcoming multiannual financial framework for 2021-2027. The main issue, Agius explained, was that while negotiations in Brussels on EU funding are at a crucial stage, the portfolio for EU funds changes hands for the third time in three years.

These concerns however, had been dismissed by the newly-appointed parliamentary secretary for EU Funds Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi, who had said that the government is “following closely the technical and political discussions with the Presidency in order to ensure that the final compromise would be in Malta’s best interest.”