Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1257572
3 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 10 JUNE 2020 NEWS nance in-house training for em- ployees will have its budget in- creased by €5 million. Development Bank underwriter The Malta Development Bank will act as an underwriter for pri- vate companies where bond roll- overs are due. This measure is intended to create peace of mind just in case companies find it dif- ficult to roll-over bond issues. Port charges refund For a period of six months, government will give refund 33% of port charges. The measure will not apply on transhipment activities. Government will also refund 10% of container discharge fees. This also does not apply on tran- shipment activities. Export promotion A budget of €400,000 will be al- located to Trade Malta, which it will use to refund 50% of expens- es made by companies for digital promotion of their products, up to a maximum of €10,000. Cancelled international fairs refunds Government will refund up to 80% of expenses incurred by companies that were going to participate in international fairs that got cancelled because of COVID-19. Export credit guarantee The Malta Development Bank will provide an export credit guarantee up to a maximum of €10 million for companies seek- ing to export their products in developing markets. Modernising construction industry The budget measure to help finance the modernisation of construction industry equip- ment will be beefed up for a total budget of €4 million. Advertising fund A €5 million fund will be creat- ed for Maltese companies want- ing to advertise their products locally and overseas. WHAT'S IN IT FOR OTHER ENTITIES Voluntary organisations fund To mitigate the loss of income sustained by voluntary organisa- tions, government will create a €3 million fund to help sustain these organisations. Private elderly homes fund Private elderly homes that sus- tained higher expenses during the pandemic because of live-in arrangements for carers stand to benefit from a €2 million fund. Media The special agreement to help finance media houses during the pandemic will be extended until September. LOOKING TO THE FUTURE €400 million to modernise manufacturing infrastructure The government will invest 3% of GDP over the coming years to modernise industrial estates and create new spaces to be able to attract foreign investment. This is intended to put Malta in a po- sition to quickly tap any foreign interest in opening a manufac- turing base here. Green recovery Government will work on fi- nalising a plan to implement a low carbon strategy. This will be unveiled in the budget for next year. reach FROM PAGE 1 Daniel Azzopardi will now be Malta's ambas- sador in Spain, while his predecessor, Marlene Bonnici, will return to her Brussels posting as permanent representative after spending the last two years as ambassador in Germany. Sources who spoke to MaltaToday said Az- zopardi had failed to nurture the necessary level of diplomatic influence with EU mem- ber states to convince them to pledge for the migrants rescued at sea by Malta during the coronavirus pandemic, when it shut its ports to asylum seekers. But the same source said Azzopardi faced an uphill struggle, after Malta's initial strategy to charter a private boat to push back a group of migrants to Libya, which resulted in seven people dead and missing on arrival, showed bad faith from the Maltese side. "He never stood a chance after the pushback. Malta lost the moral high ground. Many of the previous ad hoc relocations had been brokered by Joseph Muscat himself, whose network in Europe was excellent, built through years of experience in Brussels as an MEP and then as prime minister. Azzopardi did not have that so he could not replicate what Muscat did." Additionally, Malta's clout in the EU has taken a hit after the political crisis of Decem- ber 2019, when the arrest of Tumas magnate Yorgen Fenech prompted the resignations of Joseph Muscat's chief of staff Keith Schem- bri and shortly after of Muscat himself, as top brass in the Labour government became im- plicated in the Daphne Caruana Galizia assas- sination. "Certain EU countries don't look at us with favour in the first place… which means this was an uphill struggle. You cannot win all these battles. Sometimes you have to give in to slowly build trust and good faith," the source said. Azzopardi was formerly the Chief Executive Officer of the Malta Energy and Water Agen- cy, during the ministerial tenure of Konrad Mizzi. His technical competence was recog- nised by the Muscat administration earlier on while working as a technical attaché on energy and land transport within the Permanent Rep- resentation to the EU, between 2009 and 2016. The return of Marlene Bonnici in the driv- ing seat as Malta's permanent representative will be a return to form for the diplomat, even though insiders have in the past resented her management style. Bonnici already served in the role of envoy in Brussels between 2012 and 2018. She is one of Malta's longest serving diplomats and a senior public servant, having also occupied the role of permanent secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister during the Gonzi administration. Peter Agius, a former Nationalist Party can- didate for MEP, said Azzopardi's dismissal showed any Maltese representative will find a difficult road ahead due to the damage caused [to Malta's reputation] by the government, "including that related to the sale of passports, and the justice which has been denied in the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder cases and the fact that government members have been ob- scenely implicated in it." Agius said this highlighted the importance of clearing Malta's name. "The government can change as many EU permanent representa- tives as it had changed police commissioners, but, with the way it behaves, results will con- tinue being scarce – and it will be [the people] who suffer, because they need Europe to be understanding when it comes to issues includ- ing migration and EU funds." Marlene Bonnici has been re-appointed Malta's permanent representative in Brussels Malta's pushback bid showed bad faith