Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1517228
8 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 10 MARCH 2024 NEWS ANNOUNCEMENT OF A CALL FOR PROJECT PROPOSALS UNDER European Social Fund+ 2021-2027 The Ministry responsible for European Funds would like to announce that it is launching a call for project proposals in the following area: Priority 1 - Enhancing Employability and Labour Market Resilience Specific Objective: 4.3 – Gender balanced labour market participation The call will close on 6 th May 2024 at noon. The online application form for the submission of project proposals and supporting documentation are available on https://fondi.eu/what-funding-is-available/. Prospective Applicants are encouraged to refer to the European Social Fund+ Programme and the Eligibility Guidance Notes in order to check whether their proposals are eligible for funding through this call for project proposals. Further information on this call and on the European Structural and Investment Funds may be obtained from https://fondi.eu/. Any query should be sent by email on fondi.eu@gov.mt. A dedicated information session is being organised on Tuesday, 9th April, 2024 from 14:30 till 17:30 at the offices of Servizzi Ewropej f'Malta – 280, Republic Street, Valletta. Registration for the information session can be done by scanning the below QR code. Acting president would be appointed without parliamentary vote CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 If the President decides to step down, the Constitution allows the Prime Minister to appoint an acting president after consult- ing with the Opposition leader. Such a temporary appointment requires no parliamentary vote. However, if no acting president is appointed, the Constitution says that the functions of the president should be assumed by the Speaker of the House. The post of president cannot remain vacant. "It is very unlikely for an acting president to be appointed giv- en the ongoing impasse, which means Anglu Farrugia will as- sume the functions of president once George Vella's term is up," a source privy to the ongoing talks said. He will remain acting president until parliament ap- points someone else. Farrugia was first appointed Speaker in 2013 and is current- ly in his third term, making him the longest-serving Speaker. He will continue to serve as Speaker even if he assumes the functions of the president. The next president has to be appointed by a two-thirds ma- jority in parliament following a constitutional amendment in 2020. Before then, the resolution appointing the president only needed a simple majority, which meant the government always got its way. The Constitution has no an- ti-deadlock mechanism, which means that with no bi-partisan agreement in place, the appoint- ment of the next president may drag on indefinitely. Grech shot down Helena Dalli Abela and Grech have refrained from commenting publicly on the secret talks but MaltaTo- day understands that the Prime Minister proposed Helena Dalli. Dalli is European Commission- er for equality, a term that will end on 8 June with the European Parliament elections. However, Grech shot down her nomination on the basis that she formed part of former prime minister Joseph Muscat's Cabi- net. Dalli was minister between 2013 and 2019. The Nationalist Party's par- liamentary group last month agreed to a proposal put for- ward by Grech that the Opposi- tion would block any individual identified by the Daphne Caru- ana Galizia public inquiry who shared responsibility for the journalist's murder. The public inquiry had found the State responsible for the as- sassination and criticised then prime minister Joseph Muscat and his Cabinet for failing to protect those at risk and assur- ing good governance and the rule of law. The PN parliamentary group's decision to oppose anyone con- nected to Muscat's administra- tion was never communicat- ed publicly and news of it first emerged in Times of Malta, which quoted unnamed sources. MaltaToday had revealed last year that Grech informed his parliamentary group that he would be putting forward the names of sitting magistrate Joe Mifsud, Caritas official Marica Cassar and former PN minister Dolores Cristina as possible re- placements for George Vella. Although talks between Abela and Grech have been described as cordial by sources privy to the exchanges, the two leaders have not budged from their respective stands. With time running out, Anglu Farrugia could end up shuttling between parliament in Valletta and San Anton Palace in Attard as he fills the dual roles of Speak- er and president respectively. President George Vella has told close associates that he does not wish to continue in office after his term expires on 4 April MaltaToday understands that the Prime Minister proposed Helena Dalli... However, Grech shot down her nomination on the basis that she formed part of former prime minister Joseph Muscat's Cabinet