Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/989894
4 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 3 JUNE 2018 MATTHEW VELLA BEFORE his election as prime minister, one of Joseph Mus- cat's first faux pas came in 2011 when he suggested Malta should double up on its tourism promotion after civil society protests broke out in Tunisia and Egypt. The carelessness of the remark was redolent of anecdotal wis- dom that Malta's safety attract- ed wary travellers steering clear of the unrest that followed the Arab Spring or terror attacks in Egypt, Tunisia and France. But although untouched, Mal- ta still bears a cost for terror at- tacks, according to a report by the European Parliament's re- search service – and that cost is primarily an economic one. Between 2004 and 2016, it is estimated that Malta lost some €26.5 million mainly in eco- nomic losses associated with the impact of terror attacks around Europe. The effect was measured mainly on gross domestic prod- uct, and calculated using the Global Terrorism Database's terrorism index. According to the experts who ran up Europe's "terrorism bill", on average a one-unit increase in the terrorism index is asso- ciated with a reduction in eco- nomic growth by about 0.04 percentage points in the year of the attack. To give an example, based on this estimate the 2016 Brussels bombings, with 32 civilian fatal- ities and 340 injuries, may have led to a 0.1 percentage point re- duction in growth in Belgium in 2016. "We estimate that terrorism has caused a loss of about €5.6 billion in lost lives, and injuries and physical capital between 2004 and 2016. Roughly €2.6 billion of this loss has occurred since 2013… Terrorism has also had a tangible, albeit small and short-lived, impact on econom- ic output in the EU, with a GDP loss across the EU-28 member states since 2004 of about €180 billion, of which about €88 bil- lion occurred between 2013 and 2016," the EP report's experts said. But interestingly, the effects of terrorism on economic growth tend to be relatively short term and only apply within the year of the incident. "In line with previous research, we found that terror attacks tend to have a short-lived ef- fect only and that tourism levels tend to normalise within one to three months," the experts said. "We find that it mainly affects investments, which tend to be cut back to some extent. In ad- dition, we find that consump- tion as a share of GDP increases slightly. This is in line with pre- vious empirical research that in light of terrorism risk individu- als may change their consump- tion behaviour," the EP's ex- perts said. The member states bearing the largest economic cost were Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Spain and the United Kingdom. Greece and Cyprus suffered large GDP costs be- cause of domestic terrorism, whereas Belgium, France, Ger- many, Spain, Sweden and the UK suffered transnational ter- rorism. While terrorism diverts tour- ists away from affected coun- tries towards other destinations, the impact tends to be immedi- ate but short-lived. On the other hand the 9/11 terror attacks resulted in in- creased security measures and fewer passengers travelling by plane: a decline of 94% in rev- enue passenger miles by 2005. Apart from that, insurance claims of billions led to a raise in premiums that hit shipping, transport, and commercial property. Terrorism costs Malta €26.5 million in economic losses NEWS CAPTION XXXXX 4th CALL FOR PROJECT PROPOSALS UNDER THE INTERREG EUROPE PROGRAMME 2014-2020 The Territorial Cooperation Unit within the Funds and Programmes Division, MEAE, is pleased to announce that the fourth call for project proposals under Interreg Europe Programme 2014-2020 has opened on 7th May and shall close on 22 June 2018, at 12:00p.m. Under this call, for which a budget of € 74 M (ERDF) has been allocated, project proposals targeting one of the specific objectives listed below may be submitted: a. Strengthening research, technological development and innovation; b. Enhancing the competitiveness of SMEs; c. Supporting the shift towards a low carbon economy in all sectors; d. Protecting the environment and promoting resource efficiency. Interested parties, who might eventually want to submit or join proposals for funding under the INTERREG EUROPE Programme, may include public and public equivalent entities and also private non-profit bodies. Further information may be accessed from the FPD's website www.eufundsmalta.gov.mt or the Programme's website http://www.interregeurope.eu/ as well as by phone on 2200 1142 or by email to territorialcoop.fpd@gov.mt . INTERREG EUROPE PROGRAMME 2014-2020 Programme part-financed by the European Union European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Co-financing rate: 85%/75% EU Funds; 15% National Funds Top 10 EU states with highest combined cost of terrorism in terms of human capital and GDP cost Country 2004-2016 2013-2016 (€m) (€m) France €44,943 €37,901 United Kingdom €44,384 €15,917 Spain €42,721 €315.6 Germany €19,457 €15,809 Greece €10,522 €3,436 Belgium €8,161 €7,951 Ireland €4,363 €3,040 Sweden €2,921 €2,438 Italy €2,236 €891.3 Netherlands €1,777 €516.6