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10 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 5 APRIL 2026 Q&A Roderick Zerafa: 'A free service Twenty-two years into EU membership, Malta receives its largest-ever European funding package. Roderick citizens, why a new policy unit was needed, and what the next five years hold for the country's one-stop 1. The birth of SEM stems from the fact that we are members of the Euro- pean Union. For those unfamiliar with the agency, what is the role of the Servizzi Ewropej f'Malta, and what services do you offer to the public and organisations? Servizzi Ewropej f'Malta is a govern- ment agency that we refer to as the one- stop shop for the EU in our country. Our mission is to bring the European Union closer to Maltese and Gozitan citizens. We operate on three pillars: Inform, assist, and involve. We inform people about what is happening at the Euro- pean level; we assist where European funds are concerned; and we involve people by showing them what the EU is doing in our country, including local councils and success stories that have come about through European funding. At this point in time, Malta holds the largest package of European funds it has ever had, €2.25 billion, after 22 years of EU membership. 2. You have the role of assisting those interested in obtaining aid and support from Europe. To do this, you must have a well-trained team. Can you explain how you are structured? The agency has a communications de- partment that continuously promotes our work, and a project support depart- ment whose main purpose is to assist with European funds. This department also provides training and over the past five years, we have delivered more than 115 training sessions on project devel- opment and writing of applications for European funds, which many find quite challenging. We help them with filling out applications and implementing the project. In the near future, a policy de- partment will also begin operating, con- tinuing our mission in a new direction. 3. You have just celebrated five years since the agency was found- ed. Which do you consider the most important achievements of Servizzi Ewropej f'Malta over these past five years? Without a doubt, being recognised by the public service as the highest quality service within the public sector—that is a clear testament to the work we do, and above all to the work of our entire team. Over the past five years, we have submit- ted more than 700 European fund ap- plications with a total value exceeding €150 million. This is a free service, which sets us apart from what other countries do, and whenever I explain this at inter- national forums, colleagues from other countries are genuinely impressed. Another significant achievement is that SEM was reselected as our coun- try's information centre for the Euro- pean Commission, one of around 400 centres across all 27 EU member states. This representation will carry particular meaning when Malta next holds the Presidency of the Council in 2030, a mo- ment when our country will be setting the European agenda. 4. How would you describe the pro- file of the individuals or entities that use your services? We assist every segment of society: Businesses, NGOs, local and regional councils, farmers, fishermen, schools, and even certain government depart- ments. Where European funds are con- cerned, we also serve as the national contact point coordinator for direct funding, meaning funds that are not pre-allocated to Malta but are open to competition across all of Europe. Over the past five years we have received more than 5,000 queries related to in- formation on European funds. 5. How many of them already knew about you and the services you pro- vide? The number of people approaching us has grown significantly since we ex- panded our communication channels. But what motivates me most is visiting businesses and NGOs that have benefit- ed from European funds and seeing peo- ple who, without a few thousand euros in funding, would never have been able to carry out their projects or even dream of doing so. Many of them did not know us beforehand, but we reached them. That is the real proof that we are getting to the people who need us most. 6. The policy unit has also been launched. Why was there a need for such a unit within the agency? This came about because there were We have delivered more than 115 training sessions on project development and writing of applications for European funds, which many find quite challenging ALL PHOTOS BY JAMES BIANCHI/MALTATODAY