Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1240944
3 LETTERS & EDITORIAL maltatoday | SUNDAY • 26 APRIL 2020 Mikiel Galea Letters & Clarifications Funding social inclusion THE Malta Federation of Organ- isations Persons with Disability (MFOPD) demands immediate ear- marking of funding from the recent- ly adopted European Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative and funding initiatives adopted as follow up to it. We also expect that more long-term funding is secured from the EU Budget post-2020. We request financial measures to directly support persons with disabil- ities and to guarantee the sustaina- bility of health and support services. We call for the inclusion of organ- isations of persons with disabilities in bodies created to plan economic recovery and extensive collection of data disaggregated by disability. Our members have been working tirelessly to promote the rights of persons with disabilities during the COVID 19 crisis. We would like to express our deepest concern about the situation for Europe's 100 million persons with disabilities during this time and call on EU leaders to plan for a fully inclusive COVID-19 re- sponse and recovery which builds a more inclusive Europe. This crisis has highlighted the catastrophic impact of underinvest- ment in social and health services in Europe. The economic recovery, which you are currently planning, should fully address the cracks in the system. Life-saving treatment and protective equipment are currently being denied to citizens who need them, and persons with disabilities are being stripped of the support needed to live their lives, due to ser- vice providers being left unprotected and unable to continue their work. Political and financial support needs to be given to social, employment and health services that keep our societies running; these services have proved essential during this crisis. The impact of COVID-19 on em- ployment and income stability is justifiably an area of deep concern for policy makers. It should be rec- ognised that it is having a double impact on persons with disabilities, particularly women with disabilities. Even before this crisis, 28.7% of per- sons with disabilities in the EU were at risk of poverty, and only 50.8% were employed. Many persons with disabilities have precarious contracts and low salaries, giving them little or no protection during business clo- sures. The response to the COVID-19 pandemic should not simply target a return to the status quo. We should invest in a Europe that provides better protection for its citizens, guarantees social protection and inclusion, and creates more re- silient employment and health struc- tures. These measures may include, but are not limited to, lump sum pay- ments for qualifying individuals, tax relief measures, subsidisation of goods or leniency for the payment of specific expenses, automatic exten- sion of any soon-to-expire disability related entitlements, extension of cash transfers and disability entitle- ments to all persons with disabilities officially registered that may not be eligible under regular circumstances. Marthese Mugliette President Crypto charges IN your report 'Malta Cypto Poster- boys Binance hit by US class action over Wild West Sales', you refer to Founders Bank as the world's first decentralised bank "in Malta". Whenever a licence or authorisa- tion is granted to a banking insti- tution, the name and details of the institution will be published in the Financial Services Register on www. mfsa.mt. A quick search in the will immedi- ately show you that Founders Bank does not feature in the list of licensed banking institutions. Additionally, the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) refers to the public statement it had issued last February stating that Binance is not authorised by the MFSA to oper- ate in the crypto currency sphere and is therefore not subject to regulatory oversight by the MFSA. MFSA Mriehel