EU commission delegation to grill government on environment

James Debono
A delegation of the European Commission’s Environment Directorate-General will be visiting Malta later on this week to discuss “ongoing cases concerning EU environmental legislation.”
“The cases to be discussed concern compliance with EU legislation relating to, amongst other things, waste management, nature protection and environmental impact assessments,” a spokesperson for the European Commission told MaltaToday.
According to the commission spokesperson, these meeting are held on regular basis “usually on an annual basis.”
The meeting between the European Commission and the Maltese authorities coincides with a pending investigation on the extension of development boundaries and approval of the local plans.
In May 2007 the European Commission issued a letter of formal notice against the Maltese authorities for failing to conduct an environmental impact study on their plan to extend development boundaries.
The Commission is expected to decide whether to start infringement procedures against Malta in November.
Malta’s record on waste management is also expected to come under the Commission’s scrutiny.
The government has no statistics to show how much packaging waste was re-used or recycled in the past three years, despite strict targets imposed by the European Union, and has now hired an international firm to collect the necessary information.
The delegation’s visit also coincides with controversy on the latest plans for Ta’ Cenc.
Alternattiva Demokratika’s secretary general Victor Galea has now written to the commission complaining of a lack of transparency on this issue.
Fresh new plans on the controversial Ta’ Cenc Hotel expansion have been described by NGOs as an ‘improvement’ over the previous plans for development at Ta’ Cenc cliffs.
Conservationist groups Din l-Art Helwa, Wirt Ghawdex, and BirdLife Malta all held separate meetings with Ta’ Cenc Hotel owner Victor Borg on the fresh plans which were submitted to MEPA but not published on its internet site.
Alternattiva Demokratika insists that the information presented in the meeting should have been made more public.
In his letter to the commission Galea complained of “meeting sessions some of which were shrouded in secrecy” and “in the absence of any public information exercise, even by MEPA itself.”
In the same letter Galea called on the Government’s duty and responsibility to declare this area as a Special Area of Conservation and that Ta’ Cenc should be included in the EU Natura 2000 list with immediate effect.”
In a statement issued yesterday AD chairperson called on the Government not to hesitate to grant Ta’ Cenc special protection as Nature 2000 site.
“By shrouding projects in secrecy, discouraging transparency, and restricting information to the public domain, government is not promoting its ‘Together, everything is possible’ mission statement. This leaves no option for AD but to keep the EU authorities informed of the situation, in keeping with the party’s 20-year efforts to safeguard and protect the environment for us and for future generations.”

Jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt

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