Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1467182
12 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 8 MAY 2022 NEWS An architect's rendition of the proposed development for the Marsa racecourse. The plans for the upgrading of the racecourse envisage the erection of a nine-storey high, commercial and office block, seen here in a fluid modern style of architecture. A five-storey high car park is also being proposed over the Marsa Park and Ride. While the ground floor will host a bus terminus, the overlying four floors will include parking spaces for a staggering 1,248 cars. A bridge will connect the car park and the racetrack. The building will also include an "open roof VIP area on top". The plans, designed by architect Edwin Mintoff, also envisage upgrading the racetrack and the polo pitch, the development of two clubhouses, stables and paddocks, a childcare centre and an equestrian arena with a grandstand. According to the deed signed with the government, the annual ground rent to be paid by the operator for the land housing the racetrack will amount to €100,000. A further €650,000 in ground rent will be due on the land on which a commercial complex is to be built, with €50,000 due in rent for a proposed 1,200-car parking facility. The obligation to pay rent on the car park will come into force after three years. And down the stretch they come... MATTHEW VELLA BRUSSELS is still assessing whether it will force Malta to amend its long-term residence rules after an Indian national was denied residence status, he claims, for not being able to speak Maltese. The petitioner, whose mother tongue is English, complained to MEPs that his application for a long-term residence in Malta was declined because he does not speak Maltese. Since Maltese and English are the official languages of Malta, he asked why the language criteria for a long-term residence are reduced to only one language, namely Maltese. The European Commission took up the complaint back in 2021, where it sent an addi- tional letter of formal notice to Malta, stating that Maltese law does not comply with the prin- ciple of proportionality and ef- fectiveness with EU laws. Under the applicable Maltese legislation, applicants for EU long-term resident status must prove a certain knowledge of the Maltese language, while applicants for Maltese citizen- ship by naturalisation have the choice between providing evi- dence of their Maltese or Eng- lish language skills. The Commission said it is still assessing Malta's reply. "The Commission will either issue a reasoned opinion on the basis of Article 258 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the Euro- pean Union, or close the case," the EC said. The EU's Long-Term Res- idence Directive also estab- lishes that long-term residents shall enjoy equal treatment with regard to access to em- ployment, including conditions of employment and working conditions. Maltese legislation requires non-EU nationals who are long-term residents in Malta to have an 'employment licence', which is obtained following an application by the employer addressed to the Employment Licences Unit and has a validity of one year, renewable. With- out this license, long-term resi- dents cannot be employed. As Maltese nationals do not need such a license to have access to employment, this inequality of treatment vis-à- vis non-EU nationals who are long-term residents constitutes an infringement of the Direc- tive. Brussels assessing 'unfair' Malta language condition on residence Under the applicable Maltese legislation, applicants for EU long-term resident status must prove a certain knowledge of the Maltese language, while applicants for Maltese citizenship by naturalisation have the choice between providing evidence of their Maltese or English language skills