Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1138429
KURT SANSONE GAMING industry players are up in arms af- ter the Dragonara casino operators received a 64-year extension to their lease agreement without a competitive tender. Dragonara Gaming, a company that is ul- timately co-owned by Johann Schembri and the Bianchi family, has a 10-year lease agree- ment with government-owned Casma Ltd that expires next year. The property covered by the lease includes the Dragonara casino in St Julians and the land immediately surrounding the building. According to a motion tabled in Parlia- ment by Economy Minister Chris Cardona, Dragonara Gaming has asked Casma Ltd for a 64-year lease extension until 2083. The motion sought parliament's approval so the new lease agreement between Casma and Dragonara Gaming can go ahead. However, industry sources who spoke to MaltaToday said an extension like this should have been issued by competitive ten- der like had happened 10 years ago. Casma Ltd had awarded Dragonara Ltd a 10-year lease agreement in June 2010 after a competitive tender. Dragonara was obliged to invest €17 million in the property, some- thing the parliamentary motion says was more than fulfilled. "We cannot understand why Dragonara is being given preferential treatment over such a lucrative long-term lease without a competitive tender being issued," industry sources said. Others questioned whether an agreement like this would be in breach of EU state aid rules. "An extension like this to a lease agreement that expires next year should be awarded after other players are given the chance to compete for it," the sources said, adding gov- ernment could get a better deal. It is unclear whether Cardona sought Cabi- net approval for the motion and the new lease agreement drafted between Casma and Dragonara Gaming. It is also unclear whether Dragonara will be paying a premium for the lease extension. The motion was eventually approved unanimously by Parliament on Tuesday af- ternoon with no discussion on the terms and conditions of the concession. It was second- ed by Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne. Economy Ministry replies In response to questions from MaltaToday, the Economy Ministry defended the course of action, insisting the site in question con- sisted of private land that was under the ad- ministration of Casma Limited under title of temporary emphyteusis. Casma had ac- quired the title from the Malta Development Corporation in 1990. "At no point was the site owned or man- aged by the central government, the Lands Authority or its predecessor the Lands De- partment. As such Casma Limited may ad- minister the site and dispose of same as it may deem most appropriate and in the best interest of the Maltese economy," the minis- try said, responding to questions on whether a valuation was sought from the Lands Au- thority for the land. The ministry added that notwithstanding this situation, Cardona "felt it was appropri- ate for the sake of transparency" to present a motion in Parliament. "In terms of the lease agreement dating back to 2010, Dragonara Gaming Limited was obliged to carry out substantial invest- ment over the site which investment Casma Limited ensured Dragonara Gaming Limited has carried out. Dragonara Gaming is now undertaking to continue making additional investment over the site which shall include restoration and conservation works which shall amount to millions of euro," the min- istry added. It noted that one of the conditions Drag- onara was committed to was the retention of Casma employees under a secondment agreement. maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 3 JULY 2019 3 NEWS Production of AI based ITA Guidelines. Expression of Interest (EOI) for the The Malta Digital Innovation Authority is expanding the ITA certification framework to include AI-based solutions and is seeking Expression of Interest for the provision of ITA guidelines in relation to AI, includ- ing AI-specific Control Objectives and Evaluation Criteria building on the Authority's guidelines and based upon the ethical principles and trusted AI attributes set out in the EU publicly published ethical guidelines available at https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/ethics-guidelines-trustworthy-ai and further defined (including the definition of AI itself) at https://ec.europa.eu/futurium/en/ai-alli- ance-consultation/guidelines#Top. Additional to this, OECD1 guidelines must also be taken into consid- eration in the production of this product. The OECD guidelines on AI are available at https://ww- w.oecd.org/going-digital/ai/principles/. The EOI document can be downloaded from the website of the Malta Digital Innovation Authority (MDIA): https://mdia.gov.mt/public-calls/ Any clarifications or addenda to the document will be uploaded and are available to view and download from the same website. The Authority reserves the right to refuse any offer even the most advantageous. Submission deadline is Tuesday 16th July 2019. Dragonara casino operator gets 64-year concession extension with no competitive tender It is unclear whether whether Dragonara will be paying a premium for the lease extension EU leaders agree top jobs THE next European Com- mission president will be Ur- sula von der Leyen, the Ger- man defence minister, as EU leaders coalesced around her name after ditching the so- cialist Frans Timmermans. The news was announced by Council President Donald Tusk on Tuesday evening af- ter three days of deadlocked talks. Von der Leyen is a con- servative and long-time ally of German Chancellor An- gela Merkel. Von der Leyen enjoyed the support of the Visegrad 4 countries that ve- hemently opposed Timmer- mans. The council also agreed to nominate Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel as the next council president and Spanish Foreign Minis- ter Josep Borrell as the EU's foreign affairs chief. French- woman Christine Lagarde has been nominated head of the European Central Bank. Yesterday's summit in Brus- sels was supposed to start at 11am but was postponed to late afternoon as Tusk was engaged in one-on-one talks with individual leaders. The council's nomination for European Commission president will have to be endorsed by the European Parliament, which is where it becomes tricky, given the opposition by senior German socialists and the Greens to Von der Leyen's nomination. German defence minister nominated for European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen