Last Updated on Friday, 30 October, 2020 at 11:37 am by Andre Camilleri
Among the success stories of the European Union throughout its history was the improvement in prosperity across the continent but also the reduction of disparities between its Member States and Regions.
The EU’s Economic and Social Cohesion Policy is the principal tool through which the Union seeks to improve our quality of lives through hundreds of thousands of projects all over Europe that receive funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Cohesion Fund.
Through these funds, in 16 years of membership, Malta has used more than €1.5 billion on a variety of initiatives which have improved our educational and health facilities, enhanced our historical assets, trained thousands of individuals and supported numerous businesses in their road towards innovation, growth and job creation.
Malta has been widely recognised in European quarters for its successful take up of the EU Cohesion funds, with former Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Creţu saying that “throughout the years, Malta has demonstrated how cohesion policy is a strategic investment which makes a real difference.”
For the next seven years, Malta has secured a total of €842 million in funds under the core Cohesion Policy. An additional €92 million were allocated to Malta as part of the Recovery Instrument – ReactEU.
Over the next months, beneficiaries from all walks of life will get together through the OurEU platform to share their stories of how EU cohesion policy has tangibly improved their lives. This platform includes the website OurEU.mt and dedicated social media pages on Facebook (@oureumt) and Instagram (oureu.mt).
