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maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 16 JULY 2014 News 6 Government rules out state funding of parties JURGEN BALZAN THE government yesterday ruled out the introduction of state fund- ing of political parties, leaving Malta in the company of India and Switzerland in the small group of democracies which have not yet introduced state funding. Following the opposition's call to create a bi-partisan working group, which would be tasked with com- ing up with concrete proposals be- fore the approval of the draft law on party financing, Justice Min- ister Owen Bonnici said the law cannot be delayed any further and state funding should be discussed in a few years' time. Last month, Bonnici published the white paper on party financing which proposes that donations to political parties should be capped at €40,000 while anonymous do- nations are capped at €50. Dona- tions between €50 and €500 will be treated as confidential while parties will be obliged to give in- formation on donations between €500 and €7,000. Moreover, dona- tions between €7,000 and €40,000 must be publicly declared. The government's unequivocal refusal to at least consider the in- troduction of state funding clashes with Prime Minister Joseph Mus- cat's stand in favour of state fund- ing. In 2009, Labour had proposed that political parties should receive an annual contribution of €5 for each vote obtained at the last gen- eral election - a scheme that would cost the taxpayer €7.2 million over five years. Labour had recom- mended that the €5 figure should be retroactive, starting from 2008, and amended every year according to the rate of inf lation. PN calls for working group In a letter sent yesterday morn- ing to the Justice Minister, PN deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami called for the creation of a working group "to compile a report within a month's time, and present con- crete proposals on state financing of political parties based on exist- ing European models." Fenech Adami warned of the danger that political parties be- come dependent on substantial donations by the few, who would in turn hold the parties to ransom. While noting that it backs the government's white paper on party financing the PN echoed Altern- attiva Demokratika's calls for the introduction of party financing by the state. Last week, the Greens pointed out that over the past 20 years, the two major political parties have received €2 million each in state funding, while other parties have received close to nothing at all. "Contrary to public perceptions the Maltese state already finances political parties. Since 1994 both the PN and the PL have each re- ceived €100,000 every year in or- der to finance their activity on a European and International level," Alternattiva Demokratika said. The green party's deputy chair- person, Carmel Cacopardo added that financing of political parties by the state should be extended and should not be limited to the political parties represented in Parliament. In his reply, the Justice Minister said the "law on party financing cannot be delayed any further." Explaining that the draft law imposes clear regulations on how parties can collect donations and manage their finances, Bonnici insisted that the law "must be ap- proved by Parliament before the summer recess in the best interest of the country and its reputation. "Only once the implementation of the law is successful in its first years can the country start dis- cussing other developments," he said, adding that such a discussion should not be limited to the two parties in Parliament. State funding of parties in Europe Malta is one of only two Europe- an democracies lacking any legis- lation regulating party financing, with many having some form of state funding. Although the party financing law – to be approved by Parliament in the coming weeks – goes a long way in addressing the complete lack of regulation, par- ties would still depend on private donations to fund their multi-mil- lion operations. Malta, like most European coun- tries, is still plagued by inappro- priate relations between business- men and politicians and although unpopular, state funding would further reduce the parties' de- pendence on businesses. Germany has one of Europe's most generous systems of state funding for political parties but still allows them a degree of pri- vate funding. Each party obtaining more than 0.5% of the votes in an election is entitled to state fund- ing. However, these public funds may not exceed 50% of the party's total revenue. Parties receive €0.85 per year for each vote up to the first four mil- lion votes and €0.70 for each ad- ditional vote. Parties also receive €0.38 in state financing for every €1 they receive from other sources, such as membership fees and do- nations. Public party funding is capped at €133 million, equivalent to the price of a loaf of bread per citizen. In France, only parties which have presented candidates in at least 50 constituencies and ob- tained at least 1% of the votes cast in the previous general election are eligible for state funding. Parties receive funds according to their share of the vote and the number of seats in the two parlia- mentary assemblies. Parties con- testing for the first time receive a one off lump sum as long as they collect €150,000 in private dona- tions over a 12-month period. Parties in the United Kingdom are not entitled to large-scale pub- lic funding, but various grants to political parties are payable from public funds. Parties are eligible for policy development grants to assist the party with the devel- opment of policies for inclusion in any manifesto. To be eligible a party must be represented by two MPs in the House of Commons. In Italy, political parties will no longer be funded by the state and Italians will now have the option of earmarking 0.2% of their annual income tax to the party of their choice. If they choose not to fund a party, the money will go to the state. 18-metre tower approved in 'high landscape value' area JAMES DEBONO THE Malta Environment and Planning Authorit y (MEPA) has ditched a Planning Directorate recommendation by approving an 18-metre high telephony tower set on the Mellieha ridge, on the road leading to Manikata – the directorate had made a clear rec- ommendation to reject the devel- opment. The 15 metre high mast belong- ing to Vodafone will be put up on a new three metre high room set in a 3,000 square metre field. The case officer report unam- biguously concluded that the de- velopment was unacceptable as it is located on a scheduled Area of High Landscape, an Area of Eco- logical Importance and a Site of Scientific Importance. The development was deemed to have a negative visual impact on highly scenic views. Between 2006 and 2009 a number of applications for new communications towers were submitted but MEPA wisely took a decision to postpone all applica- tions until a master plan identi- f ying suitable sites for telephony towers was formulated and the Malta Communications Author- it y (MCA) and MEPA are still in the process of finalising this mas- ter plan. But some months ago the MCA submitted a draft master plan on which MEPA expressed a number of concerns. The case officer report reveals that the MCA had previously identified a site in Triq il-Mellie- ha located 350 metres away from the approved site. But last February the MCA informed architect Robert Mu- sumeci, who represented Voda- fone, that it had no difficult y in including the site proposed by Vo- dafone in its master plan, arguing that this site is "slightly better" as it is located further away from the residential area. In May 2013 MEPA had also ap- proved the development of a 30- metre telecommunications hub at id-Dwejra, limits of Rabat. On Friday MEPA also approved a 10-metre high mobile telepho- ny tower owned by Vodafone set on the roof of the Labour Part y's headquarters in Hamrun, which is located in a residential area. The permit for this tower was issued in 2009 and expired last January – such permits are valid only for five years. But thanks to a legal notice ap- proved last year MEPA is bound to renew any permit issued after August 2006 and renewed before March 2015. YOUR FIRST CLICK OF THE DAY www.maltatoday.com.mt Beppe Fenech Adami Owen Bonnici PHOTOGRAPHY BY RAY ATTARD