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A team entrusted with providing “an independent opinion” on the controversial extension of building zones is being led by a close aide of the Minister for the Environment. Leading the audit team is Chris Ciantar, a close aide of minister George Pullicino who occupies the role of director of environment policy in the ministry.
The former head of operations at Wasteserv is considered to be Pullicino’s right-hand man, to the extent that he has accompanied the minister in meetings with environmental NGOs on the controversial extension of development zones.
But the audit team was only appointed by Cabinet on 15 June 2006, six months after Malta transposed the Directive, and a full month after minister George Pullicino announced the extension of development zones. A month later, the audit team wrote to MEPA saying an EIA on the extension of the building zones was not feasible.
But Malta is currently being investigated by the EU Commission for a possible breach of the SEA Directive, prompted by questions sent by MaltaToday in June.
The Strategic Environment Assessment audit team, Malta’s authority on the implementation of the SEA Directive, has already told the Malta Environment and Planning Authority on 20 July that a strategic environment assessment on the new building zones was not feasible.
Malta is obliged by the SEA Directive to submit plans impacting the environment to an environment impact assessment.
The audit team is supposed to provide an independent opinion on the process government unleashed to extend development boundaries, and which is being carried out by MEPA. Cabinet issued the guidelines to MEPA on how land would be included in the new extended development zones.
The ministry still considers the opinion of the audit team an “independent one” despite the fact that Ciantar is a ministry official, prompting concern that the regulator is incestuously linked with the proponent of the rationalisation process.
The ministry is still claiming the proponent of the rationalisation process was not the government but MEPA: “The Ministry wishes to emphasise that the proponent of the local plans, which includes the scheme extensions, is MEPA not the Ministry and there is no doubt that the SEA audit team has no connection with MEPA.”
Malta’s audit team for the SEA Directive was chosen by the Prime Minister on the basis of their integrity and their knowledge on matters related to the Directive. The other two members of the audit team are lawyer Simone Borg, a former employee in the environment ministry, and Jacques Sciberras.
The ministry said members are appointed for their integrity as well as their expertise in the environmental, legislative and socio-economic domains. Ciantar, best known for his knowledge on waste management, “was appointed on the basis of the public position he holds and the qualifications he possesses.”
A perfect alibi
After the approval of the new schemes by parliament, environmentalists are placing their last hope of blocking the rationalisation exercise on the EU Commission’s pending investigation on Malta’s possible breach of the SEA Directive.
The government claims that the rationalisation exercise does not fall under the scope of the Directive, as it was merely a continuation of the local plan process commenced 13 years ago.
The Directive does not prohibit development but seeks to assess the ecological impact of any development policy with its socio-economic benefits. Malta is obliged by the Directive to submit plans commenced before 2004 but not completed before 21 July 2006, to a SEA.
The plans were approved by parliament earlier this week on 26 July, a full five days after this deadline.
But the government could have found another loophole to exempt itself from the directive. The European Commission’s expert on the SEA Directive David Aspinwall told MaltaToday that if a process was started before 21 July 2004 but not adopted before 21 July 2006, it would require a SEA “unless authorities decide that this is not feasible and make public their decision.”
Chris Ciantar’s “independent opinion” provides the government with the necessary alibi.
jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt
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