Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1524836
7 NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 4 AUGUST 2024 PRE-ANNOUNCEMENT OF CALL FOR PROJECT PROPOSALS UNDER ASYLUM, MIGRATION AND INTEGRATION FUND (AMIF) 2021-2027 The Ministry responsible for European Funds would like to pre-announce the following call under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF): Specific Objective 2: strengthening and developing legal migration to the Member States in accordance with their economic and social needs, promoting and contributing to the effective integration and social inclusion of third country nationals. The envisaged call shall cover one of the following funding priorities: reducing language barriers in schools to facilitate integration among children; promoting diversity in the educational sector to address current and future needs of society; cultivating ethnicity in the social and educational sectors; and provision of support services to migrant families to facilitate access in the education system. The call will be launched on 30 th August 2024 and it will close on 15 th November 2024 at noon. The application form, details of eligibility and indicator guideline notes will be made available with the launch of the call. Prospective applicants are encouraged to refer to the AMIF Programme available on https://fondi.eu/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/AMIF-Programme-v-2.0.pdf in order to check whether their proposals are eligible for funding through this call for project proposals. An information session will also be held on the contents of the application form and respective guidelines. For further information, the Managing Authority can be contacted by email on fondi.eu@gov.mt. PRE-ANNOUNCEMENT OF CALL FOR PROJECT PROPOSALS UNDER ASYLUM, MIGRATION AND INTEGRATION FUND (AMIF) 2021-2027 The Ministry responsible for European Funds would like to pre-announce the following call under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF): Specific Objective 2: strengthening and developing legal migration to the Member States in accordance with their economic and social needs, promoting and contributing to the effective integration and social inclusion of third country nationals. The envisaged call shall cover one of the following funding priorities: reducing language barriers in schools to facilitate integration among children; promoting diversity in the educational sector to address current and future needs of society; cultivating ethnicity in the social and educational sectors; and provision of support services to migrant families to facilitate access in the education system. The call will be launched on 30 th August 2024 and it will close on 15 th November 2024 at noon. The application form, details of eligibility and indicator guideline notes will be made available with the launch of the call. Prospective applicants are encouraged to refer to the AMIF Programme available on https://fondi.eu/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/AMIF-Programme-v-2.0.pdf in order to check whether their proposals are eligible for funding through this call for project proposals. An information session will also be held on the contents of the application form and respective guidelines. For further information, the Managing Authority can be contacted by email on fondi.eu@gov.mt. Montekristo is 'reminiscent of royal palaces' to the south of the bottling plant took place between 2016 and 2018. The development served to ur- banise and formalise what was previously a rural landscape. "The traditional rural character of the site has essentially been lost and the current development has had an impact on the Area of High Landscape Value (AHLV)," con- sultants ADI said. Moreover, the proposed 380sq.m extension to the winery, although "relatively small by comparison with the development that has already occurred on the site", will only serve to further urbanise the site "by increasing the number of restaurants and bars and adding new retail facilities." The report refers to the negative ecological impact of development carried out in the northern and western portion of the site which lies within an Area of Ecological Importance (AEI) and Site of Sci- entific Interest (SSI). The PDS also refers to the ar- chaeological sensitivity of the ar- ea around the Montekristo Estate noting that archaeological features have been recently unearthed dur- ing works within the Malta Inter- national Airport complex, in close vicinity to the site. While noting that the applicant "has explained that no archaeological features were unearthed during the expan- sion of the development on the site" the report still states that "it is possible that unrecorded cultural heritage artefacts were lost during this development". The PDS also includes Polidano's take on the "evolution" of the pro- ject. Admitting that Montekristo "was developed piecemeal over several years", he notes after re- moval of several derelict structures and a quarry, the stone recycled or recovered, and the vineyards were planted on material recovered from the old Luqa landfill. Mitigation measures In a bid to mitigate the environ- mental impacts of the project Pol- idano has expressed his intention to resurface the large hard-stand area in front of the winery and bottling plant, as well as the ex- tensive car park, using permeable material, to facilitate groundwater recharge. ADI have also proposed that in view of the loss of agricultural land, Polidano should consider "converting disturbed land in his ownership within or adjacent to the Montekristo Estate (such as the quarry-like area to the north), or by proxy elsewhere on the is- land, to agriculture." Tigers and lions Polidano presented an inven- tory of the animals living in the zoo which is presently not open for the public. These include a number of en- dangered species whose trade is prohibited except in exceptional circumstances. These include 10 tigers, four lions, three pumas, two miniature donkeys, one yel- low-crested cockatoo, and two ostriches. The report refers to the most recent statement from the Veteri- nary and Phytosanitary Regulation Department of November 2019, which following said the enclo- sures for the animals "respect the minimal animal welfare stand- ards". The consultants are recom- mending that the animal park should have strict opening and closing times guided by animal welfare requirements, and a ban on any activities within the animal park, or its ancillary facilities, out- side of these hours.