An assessment of EU-funded environmental protection projects in Malta, 2014-2020

Abstract

Maltese accession to the European Union in 2004 initiated a number of positive changes in the country. In 2013, a new period of funding from the Union’s budget was passed, encompassing a seven-year period between 2014 and 2020. Several programs were planned to contribute to areas of the economy, science, and activities in environmental protection. As continuously expressed by the European Union itself, one of its priority objectives is a high level of environmental protection. This is pursued in line with the goal of achieving sustainable growth in all its Member States. Malta contributes a high percentage of Union funds towards the environment, though assessing the effectiveness and use of these funds requires further analysis. Therefore, the aim of this dissertation is to assess Malta’s major European Union funded environmental protection projects and the extent of their positive impacts, what has been achieved, and what should be done in line with the decided national targets in the Europe 2020 Strategy. The need for this stems from a general lack of understanding on the use of funds in the environment, coupled with Malta’s unique challenges as a small island state in the European Union with an increasing population density and high urbanisation. The research methods involve a cross-sectional case study of Malta and the secondary analysis of data sourced from reports, studies, articles, publications, and statistics amongst others. From this data, a subjective conclusion on European Union-funded environmental protection projects in Malta is made. The study finds that in the 2014-2020 programming period, Malta made mixed progress in reaching its 2020 targets. While it made some progress in eco-innovation, water management, resource and energy efficiency, Malta lags in greenhouse gas emissions, transport mobility and waste management. Overall, the analysis finds that projects funded by the European Union are effective, but in some areas more than others.