PN calls for details on loss of EU funds from aviation park project

PN MEP Roberta Metsola says government's refusal to say how much EU funds have been lost on Safi project 'symptomatic of administration that is used to governing in the shadows'

6 May 2016, 5:47pm
by Staff Reporter

2 min read

The Nationalist Party has called on the government to come clean on the amount of EU funds that were reportedly lost due to delays in the Safi Aviation Park upgrading project.

“It is unacceptable that the government refuses to quantify exactly how much will be lost on this project and why the delays occurred,” PN MEP Roberta Metsola said in a statement. “This total lack of transparency is symptomatic of an administration that is used to governing in the shadows – it is almost as if they are buying time to paper over their mistakes.”

Economy minister Chris Cardona has confirmed that three hangars being developed as part of the project will be completed in August, over a year behind schedule.

A spokesperson for parliamentary secretary of EU funds Ian Borg was quoted by the Times of Malta as saying that “we cannot speak of loss of EU funds in relation to an individual operation.”

“The assessment on how EU funds were used at the level of the programme is ongoing and the secretariat will only be presenting a full picture of the situation at the level of the programme later this year once all the relevant programme closure procedures are finalised by the EU.”

However, Metsola argued that this is the latest project to have lost out on EU funds – following the Coast Road and Cittadella projects.

“This is not a one-off, and it is happening too often,” Metsola said. “EU funds are being lost and Malta has to foot the bill. We faced the situation with the Caost Road and the Cittadella projects and now again with the Aviation Park. I hope that we will not continue to hear of other EU-funded projects that the country cannot afford to jeopardise its further evolution and growth.”

Shadow economy minister Claudio Grech argued that the loss of EU funds would be detrimental to the profile of the aviation engineering industry, which he argued was created by previous PN administrations.

“Government should not be complacent in addressing the shortfalls in urgency,” he said.