Three NGOs have claimed that the Government’s “secret decision to shift European Union funds from electrification of public buses to private cars has not been communicated with or approved by the European Commission.”

Environmental NGOs Friends of the Earth Malta, Moviment Graffitti and Rota are encouraging the public to speak up and sign the parliamentary petition to “demand a democratic discussion on this proposed shift of public funding from public to private transport.”

The NGOs highlighted the fact that last December, news was shared about “the government’s secret decision to ditch plans to use EU funding to electrify part of the public transport fleet. Instead, they propose to use these funds to continue providing subsidies for purchasing private electric cars, even though the approved funding plans already includes a budget of €60 million for the purchase of zero-emission electric vehicles for the public and private sector.”

“The electrification of buses was one of the measures under the approved Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) Plan proposed by Malta and accepted by the European Commission,” the NGOs said. “The RRF funds were made available by the European Commission to help EU economies emerge stronger and more resilient from the Covid-19 pandemic crisis and promote the green transition.”

As NGOs Friends of the Earth Malta, Moviment Graffitti and Rota, “we are deeply concerned about this proposed change in use of funding. The scope, aims and impact of the two measures are not the same. Electrifying the bus fleet is an investment in public transport that benefits the entire country and its citizens. It would impact wider communities and reduce the gap in mobility, social and environmental inequalities. The modern electric buses would replace older Euro 5 Diesel buses, and would remain part of the public transport fleet, even if the current operator would not win the next tender procedure,” they said.

“The funding would upgrade our public transport system, by improving the service or could even be used to make a start with a Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) system. On the other hand, the subsidies for private electric cars are mainly benefitting people who are better off, causing further inequalities, and further incentivising private car purchasing and use. Malta already has severe problems with car dependence, take up of public space, traffic and parking issues, and road accidents.

The NGOs went on to say that “furthermore, 60 more cars are being added to the road each day. This has been recognised as well by the European Commission itself. Recently, during the Recovery and Resilience Plan Annual Event held in November 2024 in Valletta, Maria Teresa Fabregas, Director of Recovery and Resilience at the European Commission, stressed that Malta’s car dependence is extremely worrying and is jeopardising Malta’s ability to reach its climate targets, as the country’s carbon emissions are growing instead of being reduced.”

The NGOs pointed out that Malta’s RRF plan was drafted following a public consultation process and lengthy negotiations with the European Commission. “Despite information shared in the news article claiming there was “correspondence with the European Commission” about the proposed change in use of funding, in December 2024, the European Commission Representation in Malta stated that Malta had not yet submitted an amendment request to the European Commission.”

They said that “amendments to the Recovery and Resilience Plans are governed by Article 21 of Regulation (EU) 2021/2411, requiring the Member State to submit a formal request with an argument that relevant milestones and targets are no longer achievable. The Commission will then take a decision: for approval, if they consider the reasons put forward by the Member State are justified; or rejection, if they consider that the reasons put forward are not justified.”

“There is a clear procedure for making changes to the proposed use of the Recovery and Resilience Facility funds; this is not something that a Member State can just decide to change on a whim, in secret,” the NGOs said. “We are left wondering about the true intentions of this proposed change in funding. Is this truly serving the country and its residents, or is it the result of strong lobbying by the car importing industry?”

The NGOs invited citizens and residents of Malta “to sign the parliamentary petition to demand reverting this decision, to ensure that public funds are spent on public transport, and that the use of EU funds is governed in a transparent way, with opportunity for citizen participation, and benefitting all citizens and residents of Malta.”

Permalink: Prioritise public transport, not private car subsidies – Friends of the Earth Malta