Commission endorses positive preliminary assessment of Malta's second payment request for €58.9 million under the Recovery and Resilience Facility

Commission assessment of Malta's second payment request

Today, the Commission has endorsed a positive preliminary assessment of Malta's second payment request for €58.9 million, net of pre-financing, under the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the centrepiece of NextGenerationEU.

Following its assessment of the payment request, submitted by Malta on 21 December 2023, the Commission has preliminarily concluded that Malta has satisfactorily completed the 29 milestones and five targets set out in the Council Implementing Decision for the second instalment.

The payment request covers important steps in the delivery of 24 reforms and ten

investments that will drive positive change for citizens and businesses in Malta in the

areas of construction, waste management, energy efficiency, transport, digitalisation,

healthcare, education and training, justice, anti-corruption and taxation.

Flagship measures in this payment request include:

• A cutting-edge cancer diagnosis and treatment facility:
  With this payment request, Malta is one step closer to building a state-of-the-art cancer treatment facility that will provide personalised, high-precision treatment and diagnoses, expected to be operational later this year. With this investment, Malta has made strides in enhancing the quality of cancer treatment, further bolstering the nation's healthcare system.
• Improved management of construction and demolition waste:

To reduce construction and demolition waste and to stimulate the re-use and recycling of materials, new construction standards have been adopted under Malta's recovery plan. Notably, these standards will facilitate the sharing of best practices in the classification of waste and excavation works as well as ensuring easier re-use of windows and doors in new residential buildings.

• The introduction of transfer pricing rules:
  With this payment request, Malta has adopted a new law introducing transfer pricing rules in its corporate tax system. The transfer pricing rules promote fair taxation and will contribute to a more level playing field and a fairer business environment.
  
  

Next steps

The Commission has sent its preliminary assessment of Malta's fulfilment of the milestones and targets required for this payment to the Economic and Financial Committee (EFC), which now has four weeks to deliver its opinion. Depending on the outcome, the payment to Malta can take place following the EFC's opinion and the adoption of a payment decision by the Commission.

Background

Malta's recovery and resilience plan includes a wide range of investments and reforms (more information on the Maltese plan, including a map of projects financed by the Recovery and Resilience Facility in Malta are available here). The plan will be financed by €328.2 million in EU grants. The payment request preliminarily endorsed today follows Malta's first payment request, which was endorsed by the Commission on 27 January 2023 and paid out to Malta on 8 March 2023.

This second payment request will bring the funds paid out to Malta under the Recovery and Resilience Facility to €166.3 million (including the €41.1 million in pre-financing it received on 17 December 2021 and the €14 million pre-payment under REPowerEU it received on 14 December 2023). This amount corresponds to just over 50% of all the funds in the Maltese plan, while having 39% of all the milestones and targets in the plan fulfilled.

For more information

Commission's preliminary assessment of Malta's second payment request

Malta's Recovery and Resilience plan

Plan overview, full plan and all other related documents

Recovery and Resilience Facility

Recovery and Resilience Facility project map

Recovery and Resilience Scoreboard

Recovery and Resilience Facility Regulation

EU as a borrower