COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT The EU Environmental Implementation Review Country Report - MALTA Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions The EU Environmental Implementation Review: Common Challenges and how to combine efforts to deliver better results
Date: 2017-02-03
Institutions: Directorate-General for Environment, European Commission
Subjects: EU environmental policy, EU initiative, Malta, application of EU law, environmental law, environmental protection, pollution control measures

EN 

   EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 3.2.2017  SWD(2017) 51 final   COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT The EU Environmental Implementation Review Country Report - MALTA   Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions The EU Environmental Implementation Review: Common Challenges and how to combine efforts to deliver better results   {COM(2017) 63 final} {SWD(2017) 33 - 50 final} {SWD(2017) 52 - 60 final}  
 
 
Malta  2 

This  report  has  been  written  by  the  staff  of  the  Directorate-General  for  Environment,  European 
Commission. Any comments are welcome to the following e-mail address: ENV-EIR@ec.europa.eu  

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©European Union, 2017 

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Malta  3 

Table of Content 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................... 4 

PART I: THEMATIC AREAS ............................................................................................................................... 5 

1. 

TURNING  THE  EU  INTO  A  CIRCULAR,  RESOURCE-EFFICIENT,  GREEN  AND  COMPETITIVE  LOW-
CARBON ECONOMY ............................................................................................................................... 5 

Developing a circular economy and improving resource efficiency ..................................................... 5 
Waste management .............................................................................................................................. 7 

2. PROTECTING, CONSERVING AND ENHANCING NATURAL CAPITAL .......................................................... 10 

Nature and Biodiversity ....................................................................................................................... 10 
Estimating Natural Capital................................................................................................................... 12 
Green Infrastructure ........................................................................................................................... 12 
Soil protection ..................................................................................................................................... 13 
Marine protection ............................................................................................................................... 13 

3. ENSURING CITIZENS' HEALTH AND QUALITY OF LIFE ................................................................................ 15 

Air quality ............................................................................................................................................ 15 
 ................................................................................................................................................. 16 
Noise 
Water quality and management ......................................................................................................... 16 
Enhancing the sustainability of cities .................................................................................................. 18 
International agreements ................................................................................................................... 19 

PART II: ENABLING FRAMEWORK: IMPLEMENTATION TOOLS ..................................................................... 20 

4. MARKET BASED INSTRUMENTS AND INVESTMENT .................................................................................. 20 

Green taxation and environmentally harmful subsidies ..................................................................... 20 
Green Public Procurement .................................................................................................................. 21 
Investments: the contribution of EU funds ......................................................................................... 21 

5. EFFECTIVE GOVERNANCE AND KNOWLEDGE ........................................................................................... 23 

Effective governance within central, regional and local government ................................................. 23 
Compliance assurance ......................................................................................................................... 24 
Public participation and access to justice ........................................................................................... 26 
Access to Information, knowledge and evidence ............................................................................... 26 

Environmental Implementation Report – Malta 

 
 
 
Executive summary 

Malta  4 

particular  water,  pose  specific  challenges  to  Malta. 
Nevertheless  a  strong  public  support  for  environmental 
protection  is  rooted  in  the  need  to  safeguard  Malta's 
natural values for the future generations and also due to 
its economic importance for tourism.  

Main Challenges 

The main challenges with regard to implementation of EU 
environmental policy and law in Malta derived from this 
review are: 

 

  Speeding  up  the  implementation  of  the  EU  waste 
management  requirements,  as 
landfill  rates  are 
extremely  high  and  recycling  rates  very  low,  as  well 
as  improving  the  water  management  to  ensure 
protection  of  water  bodies  and  to  prevent  flash 
floods. 
Improving the air quality in the most urbanised areas 
by 
introducing  systemic  solutions  for  transport 
congestion. 
Improving  the  protection  of  habitats  and  species  of 
EU  interest  by  fully  implementing  the  Natura  2000 
instruments  and  strengthening  the  enforcement  of 
the Birds Directive. 

 

Main Opportunities 

Malta  could  perform  better  on  topics  where  there  is 
already a good knowledge base and good practices. This 
applies in particular to: 

  Supporting Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to 

 

 

move towards a more circular economy.   
Improving  compliance  assurance  by  stepping  up 
inspections and enforcement action. 
in  making  the  tourism  sector  more 
Investing 
sustainable  which 
less 
environmental pressure and a more attractive tourist 
destination. 

a  double  win: 

is 

Points of Excellence 

a 

is 

environmental 
Where  Malta 
implementation,  innovative  approaches  could  be  shared 
more  widely  with  other  countries.  Concrete  examples 
are: 

leader  on 

  The protection of traditional stone walls throughout 
Malta  as  Green  Infrastructure  delivering  multiple 
benefits for agriculture and the environment. 

  A  national  flood  relief  project,  co-funded  by  the  EU 

Cohesion Fund. 

About the Environmental Implementation Review 

launched 

reports  describing 

the 
the  Commission 
In  May  2016, 
Environmental  Implementation  Review  (EIR),  a  two-year 
cycle  of  analysis,  dialogue  and  collaboration  to  improve 
the  implementation  of  existing  EU  environmental  policy 
and  legislation1.  As  a  first  step,  the  Commission  drafted 
28 
the  main  challenges  and 
opportunities on environmental implementation for each 
Member  State.  These  reports  are  meant  to  stimulate  a 
positive debate both on shared environmental challenges 
for  the  EU,  as  well  as  on  the  most  effective  ways  to 
address the key implementation gaps. The reports rely on 
the detailed sectoral implementation reports collected or 
issued  by  the  Commission  under  specific  environmental 
legislation  as  well  as  the  2015  State  of  the  Environment 
Report  and  other  reports  by  the  European  Environment 
Agency.  These  reports  will  not  replace  the  specific 
instruments  to  ensure  compliance  with  the  EU  legal 
obligations.  

The  reports  will  broadly  follow  the  outline  of  the  7th 
Environmental Action Programme2 and refer to the 2030 
related 
for  Sustainable  development  and 
Agenda 
Sustainable Development  Goals  (SDGs)3  to  the  extent  to 
which  they  reflect  the  existing  obligations  and  policy 
objectives of EU environmental law4.  

The  main  challenges  have  been  selected  by  taking  into 
account factors such as the importance or the gravity of 
the  environmental  implementation  issue  in  the  light  of 
the  impact  on  the  quality  of  life  of  the  citizens,  the 
distance to target, and financial implications. 

The  reports  accompany  the  Communication  "The  EU 
Environmental  Implementation  Review  2016:  Common 
challenges  and  how  to  combine  efforts  to  deliver  better 
results", which identifies challenges that are common to 
several Member States, provides preliminary conclusions 
on  possible  root  causes  of  implementation  gaps  and 
proposes  joint  actions  to  deliver  better  results.  It  also 
groups in its Annex the actions proposed in each country 
report to improve implementation at national level. 

General profile 

Malta is the most urbanised, most densely populated (as 
inhabitants/km2) and the smallest Member State. These 
conditions, as well as the scarcity of natural resources, in 

1 Communication "Delivering the benefits of EU environmental policies 

through a regular Environmental Implementation Review" 
(COM/2016/ 316 final). 

2 Decision No. 1386/2013/EU of 20 November 2013 on a General Union 
Environmental Action Programme to 2020 "Living well, within the 
limits of our planet". 

3 United Nations, 2015. The Sustainable Development Goals  
4 This EIR report does not cover climate change, chemicals and energy. 

Environmental Implementation Report – Malta 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
Malta  5 

Part I: Thematic Areas 

1. Turning the EU into a circular, resource-efficient, green and 

competitive low-carbon economy 

Developing a circular economy and improving 
resource efficiency 

The 2015 Circular Economy Package emphasizes the need 
to  move  towards  a  lifecycle-driven  ‘circular’  economy, 
with a cascading use of resources and residual waste that 
is  close  to  zero.  This  can  be  facilitated  by  the 
development  of,  and  access  to,  innovative  financial 
instruments and funding for eco-innovation. 
SDG  8  invites  countries  to  promote  sustained,  inclusive 
and  sustainable  economic  growth,  full  and  productive 
employment  and  decent  work  for  all.  SDG  9  highlights 
infrastructure,  promote 
the  need  to  build  resilient 
inclusive  and  sustainable  industrialization  and  foster 
innovation.  SDG 12  encourages countries  to  achieve  the 
sustainable  management  and  efficient  use  of  natural 
resources by 2030. 

Measures towards a circular economy 

Transforming our economies from linear to circular offers 
an  opportunity  to  reinvent  them  and  make  them  more 
sustainable  and  competitive.  This  will 
stimulate 
investments and bring both short and long-term benefits 
for the economy, environment and citizens alike5.  

on  uncertain  supplies,  which  would  improve  resilience 
and  competitiveness  of 
the  economy.  Decoupling 
economic  growth  from  resource  use  and  its  impacts 
offers the prospect of sustainable growth that will last. 

important  source  of  funding 

Malta has  announced to  seek  to contribute  towards  the 
circular  economy  and  sustainability  agendas8.  EU 
legislation  and  public  authorities’  support  for  ‘greening’ 
the  economy  and  stimulating  innovation  have  been  the 
key  drivers  of  eco-innovation  in  Malta.  Since  joining  the 
EU in 2004, Malta has invested heavily in environmental 
infrastructure  and  regulation.  The  EU  has  also  been 
providing  an 
in  the 
environmental  field,  primarily  through  the  Structural 
Funds.  
In  terms  of  resource  productivity9  (how  efficiently  the 
economy  uses  material  resources  to  produce  wealth), 
Malta  performs  around  30  %  below  EU  average,  with 
1.36 EUR/kg (EU average is 2) in 2015. Figure 1 shows a 
significant decrease since 2013. 
Figure 1: Resource productivity 2003-1510 

Malta's  size  and  insularity  pose  a  number  of  unique 
challenges.  These  include  the  difficulty  to  reap  the 
benefits  of  economies  of  scale,  a  dependence  on  a  very 
narrow  range  of  exports,  high  transport  costs  in  its 
economic transactions with mainland Europe, and heavy 
reliance  on  imported  fossil  fuels6.  The  country’s  water 
resources are under severe stress, among others because 
of the semi-arid climate leading to chronic lack of natural 
is  heavily 
water  resources.  Drinkable  water  supply 
dependent  on  desalination  (which  was  significantly 
reduced over the last years but still consumes 3% of the 
country’s  total  electricity  generation).  Furthermore, 
in  waste 
despite 
management 
specific 
characteristics continue to constrain the country’s ability 
to manage waste effectively7. 

investments  made 
Malta’s 

infrastructure, 

significant 

There  is  a  clear  scope  for  Malta  to  move  to  the  circular 
economy  model  by  bringing  resources  back 
into 
productive  use,  cutting  waste  and  reducing  dependence 

The  Green  Economy  Strategy  and  Action  Plan  of  Malta 
were adopted in December 2015. The documents set out 
the Government’s vision of the green economy in Malta 
articulated  around  sustainable  growth,  efficient  use  of 
natural  resources,  increased  economic  resilience,  green 
jobs and accessibility of the natural capital.   

The  Green  Economy  Strategy  and  Action  Plan  foresee 
prioritising  efforts  to  manage  waste  in  line  with  the 

5 European Commission, 2015. Proposed Circular Economy Package  
6 Lauri, S., Caan, T.F., Azzopardi, J.P. and Bezzina, A., 2015. Energy 

8 Ministry for Finance, 2016. National Reform Programme Malta 2016  
9 Resource productivity is defined as the ratio between gross domestic 

Efficiency Trends and Policies in Malta, ODYSSEE-MURE  

7 Idem 

product (GDP) and domestic material consumption (DMC).  

10 Eurostat, Resource productivity, accessed October 2016 

Environmental Implementation Report – Malta 

 
 
 
 
                                                            
 
                                                            
waste  hierarchy  and  to  reduce  the  carbon  impact  of 
waste,  developing  a  comprehensive  Waste  Prevention 
Programme,  and  working  with  businesses  to  promote 
waste reduction and re-use as part of a broader resource 
efficiency programme.   

Proposed  actions  related  to  water  management  include 
the introduction of voluntary water audits in companies, 
coupled  with  a  grant  scheme  to  support  investments 
targeting water efficiency (see also section 3 on water).  

To  promote  green  jobs,  the  Strategy  proposes  the 
development  of  a  National  Education  for  Sustainable 
2016, 
Development 
mainstreaming 
training 
programmes. 

Strategy  by 
sustainability 

the 
in  different 

end  of 

A  number  of  instruments  are  in  place  to  promote  R&D 
and  innovation  projects.  Malta’s  Smart  Specialisation 
Strategy  prioritises  innovation  in  thematic  areas  such  as 
tourism,  maritime  services,  health,  resource-efficient 
buildings,  and  aquaculture.  The  Strategy  foresees  the 
development  of  investment  support  schemes  aimed  at 
incentivising  the  adoption  of  best  of  breed  ‘clean’  and 
‘eco-technology’  solutions,  as  well  as  other 
‘green 
financing’ mechanisms. 

Box Good Practice: Water scarcity and drought11 

The  FP7  project  MARSOL  -  Demonstrating  Managed 
Aquifer  Recharge  as  a  Solution  to  Water  Scarcity  and 
Drought  (2013-2016)  aims  to  stimulate  the  use  of 
reclaimed  water  and  other  alternative  sources 
in 
Managed  Aquifer  Recharge  (MAR)  systems  and  to 
optimise  Water  Resource  Management  through  the 
storage of excess water or by influencing gradients. 

Through interventions at 8 demonstration sites (including 
South  Malta),  MARSOL  will  demonstrate  and  compare 
the  effectiveness,  efficiency  and  sustainability  of 
different  technologies  to  increase  the  availability  of 
freshwater  under  conditions  of  scarcity.  Ultimately,  the 
project  aims  to  deliver  a  key  technology  to  face  the 
challenge of rising water scarcity in southern Europe and 
beyond. 

SMEs and resource efficiency 

Small  and  Medium-sized  enterprises  (SMEs)  are  engines 
for  growth,  innovation  and  jobs.  Malta  has  around 
29,000  SMEs.  The  SME  sector  is  one  of  the  very  few  in 
the  EU  to  have  expanded  throughout  the  crisis.  This 
growth  is  expected  to  continue  for  the  near  future:  the 
number  of  SME  employees  in  Malta  is  predicted  to  rise 
by almost 5 000 (6 %) in 2014-2016 and SME value added 
by 13 %.  

Malta  6 

in  Malta  could  result 

Investing  in  innovative,  cost-saving  measures  to  reduce 
resource  and  energy  use 
in 
substantial  cost  savings.  Based  on  results  of  best 
practices in  other  Member  States,  the cost/benefit  ratio 
between investments and SME cost savings can be up to 
1:20. The application in Malta of programmes supporting 
resource efficiency in SMEs such as ENWORKS (UK) might 
result  in  cost  savings  per  enterprise  of  over  EUR  34,000 
for energy firms and over EUR 84,000 for environmental 
technologies.    Concerning  four  SME  sectors  (food  & 
beverages;  energy,  power  &  utilities;  environmental 
technologies;  construction),  there  would  be  an  average 
potential saving of EUR 46,000 per enterprise for in total 
4,400  businesses  (14%  of  all  SMEs).  For  these  sectors, 
such  cost  savings  could  amount  to  EUR  202  million 
annually.    Getting  to  such  savings  requires  an  adequate 
investment  climate,  and  hands-on,  direct  technical  and 
financial support to SMEs12. 

Direct  support  for  SMEs  on  resource  efficiency  could  be 
combined  with  financial  support,  to  overcome  the  small 
project  size  limitation  and  the  mismatch  between  asset 
life  and  available  credit  maturities  by  pooling  of 
investment  and  risk  and  the  use  of  public  funding  for 
credit-enhancement.  

Malta's  government  is  committed  to  enhance  SMEs 
competitiveness  by  awareness-raising  among  SMEs  of 
the  opportunities  generated  by  the  green  economy, 
promoting  energy  audits  leading  to  resource  efficiency, 
and  supporting  SMEs  through  the  introduction  of  tax 
credits, grants, training and other similar schemes. 

In  the  Flash  426  Eurobarometer  "SMEs,  resource 
efficiency  and  green  markets"  it  is  shown  that  52%  of 
Malta's  SMEs  have  invested    up  to  5%  of  their  annual 
turnover 
in  their  resource  efficiency  actions  (EU28 
average 50%), 23 % of them are currently offering green 
products  and  services  (EU28  average  26%);  64%  took 
measures  to  save  energy  (EU28  average  59%),  75%  to 
minimise waste (EU28 average 60%), 47% to save water 
(EU28  average  44%),  and  60%  to  save  materials  (EU28 
average 54%). From a circular economy perspective, 59% 
took  measures  to  recycle  by  reusing  material  or  waste 
within  the company (EU28 average  40%),  31% to  design 
products  that  are  easier  to  maintain,  repair  or  reuse 
(EU28 average 22%) and 28% were able to sell their scrap 
material  to  another  company  (EU28  average  25%).  The 
resource  efficiency  actions  undertaken  allowed  the 
reduction of production costs in 41% of the Malta's SMEs 
(EU28 average 45%). 

The Flash Eurobarometer shows that 29% of the SMEs in 
Malta have one or more full time employee working in a 
green job at least some of the time (EU28 average 35%). 
Malta  has  an  average  number  of  2.4  full  time  green 

11 MARSOL 

12 RPA, 2015. Assessing the Potential Cost Savings and Resource Savings 
of Investments in 4 SME sectors, study for European Commission 

Environmental Implementation Report – Malta 

 
 
                                                            
                                                            
employees per SME (EU28 average 1.7%).  

Eco-innovation  

Eco-innovation  brings  financial  benefits  through  the 
improved  resource  productivity  and  reduced  costs  of 
material  and  energy.  High  European  environmental 
standards  have  contributed  to  a  competitive  advantage 
of  the  EU  in  the  eco-industries,  a  sector  which  is 
expected  to  double  worldwide  by  2020,  and  where  EU 
companies  hold  major  shares  of  the  world  market. 
Europe's eco-industry has been one of the few sectors to 
continue growing during the economic crisis. 

Figure 2: Eco-Innovation Index 2015 (EU=100)13 

Malta  7 

Malta’s services exports and the industry represents 30% 
of  GDP.  The  Maltese  tourism  policy  2012-2016  puts 
sustainable 
its  vision.   
Approximately 12,500 people work in the industry, which 
is 8.5% of the employed workforce (the highest in the EU 
– 1% is the EU average).     

the  heart  of 

tourism  at 

At  the  same  time,  the  tourism  sector  contributes 
substantially  to  the  environmental  pressure  (e.g.  waste, 
transport)  in  Malta.  In  addition,  traffic  congestion  &  air 
pollution and management of Natura 2000 areas need to 
be  dealt  with  to  render  Malta  as  a  sustainable  tourism 
destination. Part of Malta's rich biodiversity, a significant 
number of protected sites are relatively unspoiled (Gozo) 
and  could  therefore  be  prime  destinations  for  high 
quality  and  sustainable  tourism.  Well-planned  and 
managed  tourism 
in  these  areas  has  a  significant 
potential  for  generating  income  and  jobs.      At  the  same 
time,  the  impact  of  any  large-scale  tourism  activities  on 
N2000  conservation  values,  especially 
in  vulnerable 
coastal areas, must be properly assessed and regulated. 

Suggested action 

  Stimulate  investments  in  green  products  and  services 

and the development of sustainable tourism. 

  Make  incentives  for  SME  resource  efficiency  and  eco-

innovation more effective. 

Waste management  

Turning waste into a resource requires: 
 

implementation  of  Union  waste 

Full 
legislation, 
which  includes  the  waste  hierarchy;  the  need  to 
ensure  separate  collection  of  waste;  the  landfill 
diversion targets etc. 

The  Maltese  government  has  committed  towards  the 
adoption  of  eco-innovation  solutions  and  is  supporting 
eco-innovation  activities  mostly  through  provision  of 
various  incentives.  However,  there  is  much  room  for 
improvement. Malta’s composite eco-innovation index is 
64, relative to the EU-average index of 100. The country’s 
ranking among the EU-28 fell from 18th place in 2013 to 
25th in 2015 as shown in Figure 2.  

Tourism 

The tourism industry is one of the main pillars of Malta’s 
economy,  generating  income  and  creating  employment. 
Tourism  earnings  account  for  approximately  26%  of 

  Reducing  per  capita  waste  generation  and  waste 

 

generation in absolute terms. 
Limiting energy recovery to non-recyclable materials 
recyclable  or 
and  phasing  out 
recoverable waste. 

landfilling  of 

SDG  12  invites  countries  to  substantially  reduce  waste 
generation  through  prevention,  reduction,  recycling  and 
reuse, by 2030. 

The EU's approach to waste management is based on the 
"waste  hierarchy"  which  sets  out  an  order  of  priority 
when  shaping  waste  policy  and  managing  waste  at  the 
operational 
level:  prevention,  (preparing  for)  reuse, 
recycling,  recovery  and,  as  the  least  preferred  option, 
disposal  (which 
incineration 
includes 
without energy recovery). 

landfilling  and 

The  progress  towards  reaching  recycling  targets and the 
adoption  of  adequate  WMP/WPP14  should  be  the  key 
items  to  measure  the  performance  of  Member  States. 
This section focuses on management of municipal waste 

13 Eco-innovation Observatory: Eco-Innovation scoreboard 2015 

14 Waste Management Plans/Waste Prevention Programmes 

Environmental Implementation Report – Malta 

 
 
                                                            
                                                            
 
for which EU law sets mandatory recycling targets. 

Figure  3  depicts  the  municipal  waste  by  treatment  in 
Malta  in  terms  of  kg  per  capita.  Municipal15  waste 
generation  in  2014  is  high  compared  to  the  EU  average 
(600  kg/y/inhabitant,  compared  to  475  kg/y/inhabitant 
on average).16 

Figure  3:  Municipal  waste  by  treatment  in  Malta 2007-
1417 

Malta  8 

landfill  tax  (which  would  also  help  diverting  waste  from 
landfills) 
in  conjunction  with  a  better  allocation  of 
Cohesion  Policy  funds  (which  need  to  favour  the  higher 
solutions in the waste hierarchy) could contribute to this.  
Figure 4: Recycling rate of municipal waste 2007-1420 

The recycling and composting rate is only 12%, far below 
the EU average of 44% and the 2020 target (50%). Figure 
4 shows that Malta will have to take decisive measures to 
develop recycling in the coming years18.  
Data from 201419 show that with 88%, the landfilling rate 
is  more  than  three  times  the  EU  average  of  28%  (data 
from 2014). New data provided by Malta suggest a recent 
improvement  towards  79.7%.  Malta's  heavy  reliance  on 
waste  disposal  is  not  in  line  with  the  European  targets 
and  definitely  an  unnecessary  pressure  for  its  limited 
land. There has been only one mechanical and biological 
management  facility  (MBT)  to  treat  mixed  household 
waste, until a second one was developed with the help of 
the  EU  Cohesion  funds  and  started  to  operate  in  2016. 
Untreated residual waste plus non-recycled outputs from 
MBT are disposed in Malta’s managed landfills. To meet 
EU 
required 
infrastructure.  Revenues  from  a  gradually  increasing 

it  will  need 

to  build 

targets, 

the 

15 Municipal waste consists of waste collected by or on behalf of 

municipal authorities, or directly by the private sector (business or 
private non-profit institutions) not on behalf of municipalities.  

16 Waste generation per capita in Malta is inflated by the tourism sector: 

some 1.6 million tourists visit Malta every year. 

17 Eurostat, Municipal waste and treatment, by type of treatment 

method, accessed October 2016 

18 Member States may choose a different method than the one used by 
ESTAT (and referred to in this report) to calculate their recycling rates 
and track compliance with the 2020 target of 50% recycling of 
municipal waste. 

19 Eurostat, Municipal waste and treatment, by type of treatment 

method, accessed October 2016 

Malta's  2014  Waste  Management  Plan  recognises  the 
large problems the country is facing with regard to waste 
management  and  includes  useful  policy  actions  which 
when  implemented  would  certainly  help  to  improve  the 
situation.  The  Maltese  environmental  authorities  have 
launched  several  actions  aiming  to  improve  separate 
collection.  

Full  implementation  of  the  existing  waste  legislation 
could create more than 1.100 jobs in Malta and increase 
the  annual  turnover  of  the  waste  sector  by  EUR  116 
million.  Moving  towards  the  targets  of  the  Roadmap  on 
resource  efficiency  could  create  over  1.200  additional 
jobs and increase the annual turnover of the waste sector 
by EUR 134 million.21 

In  order  to  help  bridging  the  implementation  gap  in 
Malta,  the  Commission  has  delivered  a  roadmap  for 
compliance in which economic instruments play a crucial 
role22. 

Suggested action 

  Introduce  a  landfill  tax  and  gradually  increase  it  to 
divert  recyclable  waste  from  the  landfills.  Use  the 
revenues  to  support  the  separate  collection  and 
alternative  infrastructure  in  conjunction  with  a  better 
allocation of the cohesion policy funds to the first steps 
of  waste  hierarchy.  Avoid  building  excessive 

20 Eurostat, Recycling rate of municipal waste, accessed October 2016 
21 Bio Intelligence service, 2011. Implementing EU Waste legislation for 
Green Growth, study for European Commission. The breakdown per 
country on job creation was made by the consultant on Commission 
demand but was not included in the published document.   

22 European Commission, 2013. Support to Implementation – Municipal 

Waste. Country fiche Malta  

Environmental Implementation Report – Malta 

 
 
 
                                                            
 
                                                            
 
Malta  9 

infrastructure for the treatment of residual waste. 

  Step up the efforts on implementation of the separate 
collection  obligation  to  increase  recycling  rates  (e.g. 
reform of door-to-door separate waste collection). Use 
economic instruments (e.g. Pay As You Throw schemes) 
and education campaigns to support transition towards 
more recycling. 

  Strengthen  and  empower  enforcement  capability, 
inspection  and  enforcement  to  ensure 

including 
subscribing to collection services. 

Environmental Implementation Report – Malta 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2. Protecting, conserving and enhancing natural capital 

Malta  10 

Nature and Biodiversity  

The  EU  Biodiversity  Strategy  aims  to  halt  the  loss  of 
biodiversity  in  the  EU  by  2020,  restore  ecosystems  and 
their services in so far as feasible, and step up efforts to 
avert  global  biodiversity  loss.  The  EU  Birds  and  Habitats 
Directives  aim  at  achieving  favourable  conservation 
status of protected species and habitats. 

SDG  14  requires  countries  to  conserve  and  sustainably 
use the oceans, seas and marine resources, while SDG 15 
requires  countries  to  protect,  restore  and  promote  the 
sustainable  use  of  terrestrial  ecosystems,  sustainably 
manage  forests,  combat  desertification,  and  halt  and 
reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss. 

The  1992  EU  Habitats  Directive  and  the  1979  Birds 
Directive are the cornerstone of the European legislation 
aimed  at  the  conservation  of  the  EU's  wildlife.  Natura 
2000, the largest coordinated network of protected areas 
in  the  world,  is  the  key  instrument  to  achieve  and 
implement the Directives' objectives to ensure the  long-
term  protection,  conservation  and  survival  of  Europe's 
most  valuable  and  threatened  species  and  habitats  and 
the ecosystems they underpin. 

Malta  hosts  30  habitat  types  and  52  species  covered  by 
the  Habitats  Directive.  The  country  also  hosts 
populations  of  4  threatened  bird  species  listed  in  the 
Birds Directive Annex I. 

By early 2016, 13.2 % of the national land area of Malta 
was  covered  by  Natura  2000  (EU  average  18.1  %),  with 
Birds  Directive  SPAs covering  4.2 % (EU average 12.3  %) 
and  Habitats  Directive  SCIs  covering  12.8 % (EU  average 
13.8  %).    Based  on  the  situation  until  December  2014, 
while  only  few  scientific  reserves  are  found  as  concerns 
the terrestrial component of the SCIs network, there are 
major  insufficiencies  for  the  marine  component  of  the 
SCIs  part  of  the  Natura  2000  network24  as  depicted  in 
Figure 5. 2526 

Although the 6-year deadline established by the Habitats 
Directive  to  designate  SACs  and  establish  appropriate 
conservation objectives and measures has expired, Malta 
it  has  defined 
has  not  designated  any  SAC  and 
management  plans  only  for  7  SCIs27;  however,  the 
government has informed that it is currently working on 
the draft management plans for the other areas.    

According to the latest report on the conservation status 
of  habitats  and  species  covered  by  the  Habitats 
Directive28,  43%  of 
the  habitats'  biogeographic 
assessments  were favourable  in  2013  (EU  27:  16  %).  On 
the other hand, 50 % are considered to be unfavourable–
inadequate29  (EU27:  47%)  and  7  %  are  unfavourable  – 
bad  (EU27:  30%).  As  for  the  species,  40  %  of  the 
assessments  were  favourable  in  2013  (EU  27:  23%)  37% 
(EU27:  42%)  and  8% 
at  unfavourable-inadequate 

The  adequate  designation  of  protected  sites  as  Special 
Ares  of  Conservation  (SAC)  under  the  Habitats  Directive 
and  as  Special  Protection  Areas  (SPA)  under  the  Birds 
Directive 
is  a  key  milestone  towards  meeting  the 
objectives  of  the  Directives.  The  results  of  Habitats 
Directive Article 17 and Birds Directive Article 12 reports 
and  the  progress  towards  adequate  Sites  of  Community 
Importance (SCI)-SPA and SAC designation23 both in land 
and  at  sea,  should  be  the  key  items  to  measure  the 
performance of Member States. 

24 For each Member State, the Commission assesses whether the 
species and habitat types on Annexes I and II of the Habitats 
Directive, are sufficiently represented by the sites designated to 
date. This is expressed as a percentage of species and habitats for 
which further areas need to be designated in order to complete the 
network in that country. A scientific reserve is given when further 
research is needed to identify the most appropriate sites to be added 
for a species or habitat. The current data, which were assessed in 
2014-2015, reflect the situation up until December 2013. 

25 Malta has sent new data suggesting an improved situation, but they 
could not yet be included in this figure for consistency reasons. 
26 The percentages in Figure 5 refer to percentages of the total number 
of assessments (one assessment covering 1 species or 1 habitat in a 
given biographical region with the Member State); if a habitat type or 
a species occurs in more than 1 Biogeographic region within a given 
Member State, there will be as many individual assessments as there 
are Biogeographic regions with an occurrence of that species or 
habitat in this Member State. 

27 According to the Maltese authorities, work is ongoing and the 

23 Sites of Community Importance (SCIs) are designated pursuant to the 
Habitats Directive whereas Special Areas of Protection (SPAs) are 
designated pursuant to the Birds Directive; figures of coverage do 
not add up due to the fact that some SCIs and SPAs overlap. Special 
Areas of Conservation (SACs) means a SCI designated by the Member 
States. 

designation process should be finalised in 2016. 

28 The core of the ‘Article 17’ report is the assessment of conservation 
status of the habitats and species targeted by the Habitats Directive. 

29 Conservation status is assessed using a standard methodology as 

being either ‘favourable’, ‘unfavourable-inadequate’ and 
‘unfavourable-bad’, based on four parameters as defined in Article 1 
of the Habitats Directive. 

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Malta  11 

Figure 6: Conservation status of habitats and species in 
Malta in 2007/2013 (%)33 

unfavourable-bad status (EU27: 18%). This is depicted in 
Figure 630. Only 9% of the unfavourable assessments for 
species  were  showing  positive  trends  in  2013  and  no 
habitats  in  unfavourable  status  was  showing  positive 
trends in 2013. 

Figure  5:  Sufficiency  assessment  of  SCI  networks  in 
Malta based on the situation until December 2013 (%)31  

report  were  human 

The main pressures and threats for habitats identified in 
the  2013 
intrusions  and 
disturbances,  geological  events,  natural  catastrophes, 
and  invasive,  other  problematic  species  and  genes.  The 
main  pressures  and  threats  for  species  were  natural 
biotic  and  abiotic  processes,  invasive,  other  problematic 
species  and  genes,  and  human 
intrusions  and 
disturbances. 

Malta  has  over  the  past  three  years  strengthened  the 
enforcement  system  to  reduce  bird-related  crime, 
including, in particular, illegal killing of protected species. 
However, concerns regarding the implementation of the 
Birds Directive in Malta remain, in particular in relation to 
the regular use of hunting and trapping derogations, and 
to  the  reported  incidents  the  enforcement  authorities 
are  confronted  with.  These  have  generated  many 
complaints from Maltese and EU citizens to the European 
Commission,  and  resulted 
infringement 
procedures.32. 

in  several 

30 Please note that a direct comparison between 2007 and 2013 data is 
complicated by the fact that Bulgaria and Romania were not covered 
by the 2007 reporting cycle, that the ‘unknown’ assessments have 
strongly diminished particularly for species, and that some reported 
changes are not genuine as they result from improved data / 
monitoring methods. 

31 European Commission internal assessment. It should be noted, 

however, that Figure 5 does not yet incorporate the designation of 
the latest three marine Sites of Community Importance. This revision 
would bring the relevant sufficiency of the Malta marine SCI network 
up to 75%, according to the Maltese authorities. 

Figure  7  illustrates  that  bird  species  breeding  in  Malta 
show overall a favourable situation, although 12% of the 
species  has  decreasing  populations.  On  the  three 
wintering species, short term trends are unknown. 

Figure  7:  Short-term  population  trend  of  breeding  and 
wintering bird species in Malta in 2012 (%)34 

Suggested action 

  Complete the Natura 2000 designation process and put 
in place clearly defined conservation objectives and the 
necessary  conservation  measures  for  the  sites  and 
provide  adequate  resources  for  their  implementation 
in  order  to  maintain/restore  species  and  habitats  of 
community interest to a favourable conservation status 

of finch species.   

33 These figures show the percentage of biogeographical assessments in 
each category of conservation status for habitats and species (one 
assessment covering 1 species or 1 habitat in a given biographical 
region with the Member State), respectively. The information is 
based on Article 17 of the Habitats Directive reporting - national 
summary of Malta 

32 For example the decisions to open spring hunting seasons or trapping 

34 Article 12 of the Birds Directive reporting - national summary of Malta 

Environmental Implementation Report – Malta 

 
 
 
                                                            
 
 
                                                                                                 
across their natural range.  
  Develop  and  promote 

smart  and 

streamlined 
implementation  approaches,  in  particular  as  regards 
site  and  species  permitting  procedures,  ensuring  the 
necessary  knowledge  and  data  availability.  Strengthen 
communication with stakeholders. 

  Ensure  that  hunting  and  trapping  practices  remain 
aligned  to  the  requirements  of  the  Birds  Directive  by 
continuing  the  enforcement  efforts,  more  effective 
regulation  and  also  by  investing  in  education  and 
awareness-raising programs. 

Estimating Natural Capital  

The EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 calls on the Member 
States  to  map  and  asses  the  state  of  ecosystems  and 
their services35 in their national territory by 2014, assess 
the  economic  value  of  such  services,  and  promote  the 
integration of these values into accounting and reporting 
systems at EU and national level by 2020. 

Malta  has  carried  out  a  preliminary  identification  of  key 
ecosystems  and  ecosystem  services  and  work  has 
commenced  to  implement  the  measures  relating  to 
MAES36  in  Malta’s  National  Biodiversity  Strategy  and 
Action  Plan  2012-2020.  This  work  involves  prioritising 
ecosystems  and  ecosystem  services  for  mapping  and 
assessment. 

Work on natural capital accounting is at an initial stage of 
development.  

Suggested action 

  Strengthen support for the mapping and assessment of 
services,  valuation  and 

ecosystems  and 
development of natural capital accounting systems. 

their 

Malta  12 

Green Infrastructure  

The  EU  strategy  on  green  infrastructure37  promotes  the 
incorporation  of  green  infrastructure  into  related  plans 
and  programmes  to  help  overcome  fragmentation  of 
habitats  and  preserve  or  restore  ecological  connectivity, 
enhance  ecosystem  resilience  and  thereby  ensure  the 
continued provision of ecosystem services. 

Green  Infrastructure  provides  ecological,  economic  and 
social  benefits  through  natural  solutions.  It  helps  to 
understand the value of the benefits that nature provides 
to human society and to mobilise investments to sustain 
and enhance them. 

spaces”; 

“developing 

Malta’s  National  Biodiversity  Strategy  and  Action  Plan 
2012-2020  explicitly  address  Green  Infrastructure  and 
connectivity.  Green  infrastructure  and  references  to 
“greening  open 
ecological 
corridors” and “improving the quality of design, and life, 
in  urban  areas,  by  providing  quality  green  open  areas" 
are  included  in  the  Strategic  Plan  for  the  Environment 
and Development (SPED) for Malta and Malta’s National 
strategy  on  Climate  Change  Adaptation.  The  National 
Environment  Policy  also  promotes  green,  connected 
urban  open  space  (measure  2.2.21)  and  the  policy  on 
greening our cities in section 2.4. 38 

for 

framework 

Currently,  Malta’s  Green  infrastructure  is  seen  as  a 
holistic 
the  ecological 
coherence  of  Natura  2000  via  its  integration  into  the 
broader  landscape,  and  as  a  result  curbing  habitat 
fragmentation;  improving  adaptation  to  climate  change; 
and promoting integrated flood management. 

improving 

Implementation  of  Green  Infrastructure  policy  has  only 
recently started in Malta, therefore much remains to be 
done. An example of good practice is the national policy 
to protect ecological corridors in the form of rubble walls 
in agricultural areas. These traditional stone walls, which 
are found throughout Malta, are a good example of how 
integrated design of Green Infrastructure helps to deliver 
multiple  benefits  such  as  storm  water  management, 
maintenance  of  the  water  table  and  interconnected 
wildlife  refuges  and  benefit  agriculture  production  and 
minimising soil erosion. 

Malta has also benefitted from a number of LIFE projects 
dedicated  to  conservation  and  improvement  of  the 
coastal  areas.  As  a  country  that  relies  heavily  on  its 
marine  natural  capital  for  trade  and  for  tourism, 
investment  in  the  coastal  areas  has  generated  benefits 
for nature, for the local economy and for jobs. 

35 Ecosystem services are benefits provided by nature such as food, 
clean water and pollination on which human society depends. 
36 Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services (MAES). 

37 European Union, Green Infrastructure — Enhancing Europe’s Natural 

Capital, COM/2013/0249 

38 National Environment Policy, February 2012. 

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Soil protection  

Figure 8: Land Cover types in Malta in 201242 

Malta  13 

further  soil  degradation  and 

The  EU  Soil  Thematic  Strategy  highlights  the  need  to 
ensure  a  sustainable  use  of  soils.  This  requires  the 
the 
prevention  of 
preservation of its functions, as well as the restoration of 
degraded  soils.  The  2011  Road  Map  for  Resource-
Efficient  Europe,  part  of  Europe  2020  Strategy  provides 
that  by  2020,  EU  policies  take  into  account  their  direct 
and  indirect  impact  on  land  use  in  the  EU  and  globally, 
and  the  rate  of  land  take  is  on  track  with  an  aim  to 
achieve no net land take by 2050. 

SDG  15  requires  countries  to  combat  desertification, 
restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by 
desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve 
a land-degradation-neutral world by 2030. 

Soil is an important resource for life and the economy. It 
provides  key  ecosystem  services  including  the  provision 
of food, fibre and biomass for renewable energy, carbon 
sequestration,  water  purification  and  flood  regulation, 
the provision of raw and building material. Soil is a finite 
and  extremely 
increasingly 
degrading  in  the  EU.  Land  taken  by  urban  development 
and infrastructure is highly unlikely  to be reverted to its 
natural  state;  it  consumes  mostly  agricultural  land  and 
increases  fragmentation  of  habitats.  Soil  protection  is 
indirectly  addressed  in  existing EU policies  in  areas  such 
as  agriculture,  water,  waste,  chemicals,  and  prevention 
of industrial pollution. 

resource  and 

fragile 

The  annual  land  take  rate  (growth  of  artificial  areas)  as 
provided by CORINE Land Cover was 0.03% in Malta over 
the period 2006-12, well below the EU average (0.41%). It 
represented  3  hectares  per  year39.  The  percentage  of 
built  up  land  in  2009  was  15.23%,  well  above  the  EU 
average  (3.23%)40.  The  soil  water  erosion  rate  in  2010 
was  5.39  tonnes  per  ha  per  year,  well  above  EU-28 
average (2.46 tonnes)41.  

Figure 8 shows the different land cover types in Malta in 
2012. 

There  are  still  not  EU-wide  datasets  enabling  the 
provision of benchmark indicators for soil organic matter 
decline, contaminated sites, pressures on soil biology and 
diffuse  pollution.  An  updated  inventory  and  assessment 
of  soil  protection  policy  instruments  in  Malta  and  other 
EU  Member  States is  being  performed  by  the  EU Expert 
Group on Soil Protection. 

Marine protection 

The EU Coastal and Marine Policy and legislation require 
that by 2020 the impact of pressures on marine waters is 
reduced  to  achieve  or  maintain  good  environmental 
status and coastal zones are managed sustainably. 

SDG  14  requires  countries  to  conserve  and  sustainably 
for 
the  oceans,  seas  and  marine  resources 
use 
sustainable development. 
The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD)43 aims 
to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES) 44 of the EU's 
marine  waters  by  2020  by  providing  an  ecosystem 
approach  to  the  management  of  human  activities  with 
impact  on  the  marine  environment.  The  Directive 
requires  Member  States  to  develop  and  implement  a 
marine  strategy  for  their  marine  waters,  and  cooperate 
with  Member  States  sharing  the  same  marine  region  or 
subregion. 

As part of their marine strategies, Member States had to 
make  an  initial  assessment  of  their  marine  waters, 
determine  GES  and  establish  environmental  targets  by 
July  2012.  They  also  had  to  establish  monitoring 
programmes for the on-going assessment of their marine 

39 European Environment Agency Draft results of CORINE Land Cover 

(CLC) inventory 2012; mean annual land take 2006-12 as a % of 2006 
artificial land. 

40 European Environment Agency, 2016. Imperviousness and 

imperviousness change, Figure 1 

41 Eurostat, Soil water erosion rate, Figure 2, accessed November 2016 

42 European Environment Agency, Land cover 2012 and changes country 

analysis [publication forthcoming] 

43 European Union, Marine Strategy Framework Directive 2008/56/EC 
44 The MSFD defines Good Environmental Status (GES) in Article 3 as: 
“The environmental status of marine waters where these provide 
ecologically diverse and dynamic oceans and seas which are clean, 
healthy and productive”. 

Environmental Implementation Report – Malta 

 
 
 
                                                            
 
                                                            
Malta  14 

latest Commission's assessment46. 

In  2012,  Maltese  marine  protected  areas  covered  193.3 
km2  of  its  marine  waters  in  the  Ionian  and  Central 
Mediterranean  Sea47.  However,  Malta  reported  that  it 
designated an additional 9 marine protected sites in 2016 
bringing the total area of coverage to 3487km². 
In  its  report  on  the  implementation  of  the  MSFD48,  the 
Commission  provided  guidance  to  assist  Malta  in  its 
implementation  of  the  Marine  Strategy  Framework 
Directive.  However,  because  of  the  late  reporting  of 
Malta's  monitoring  programme, 
the  Commission's 
guidance  only  concerns  Malta's  good  environmental 
status, targets and initial assessment.  

Suggested action 

  Continue  work  to  improve  the  definitions  of  GES, 
including  through  regional  cooperation  by  using  the 
work of the relevant Regional Sea Convention. 

  Address knowledge gaps. 
  Further 

develop 

(and 
approaches 
quantifying) impacts from the main  pressures in order 
to  lead  to  improved  and  more  conclusive  assessment 
results for 2018 reporting. 

assessing 

  Urgently  report  and  implement  its  programme  of 

measures49 

  Ensure that its monitoring programme is implemented 
without  delay,  and  is  appropriate  to  monitor  progress 
towards the GES. 

waters  by  July  2014.  The  next  element  of  their  marine 
strategy is to establish a Programme of Measures (2016). 
The  Commission  assesses  whether  these  elements 
constitute  an  appropriate  framework  to  meet  the 
requirements of the MSFD. 

the  Mediterranean 

Malta's  marine  waters  are  part  of  the  marine  region  of 
the Mediterranean Sea. Malta is party to the Convention 
for  the  Protection  of  the  Marine  Environment  and  the 
Coastal  Region  of 
(Barcelona 
Convention).  The  Mediterranean  Sea  region  has  been 
identified by the EEA in its 2015 State of the Environment 
report  as  one  of  the  main  climate  change  hotspots  (i.e. 
one of the areas most responsive to climate change) due 
to semi-arid climatic characteristics of the region leading 
to water scarcity, concentration of economic activities in 
climate-sensitive 
coastal  areas,  and 
agriculture.  The  introduction  of  invasive  alien  species 
presents  an  important  threat  in  the  Mediterranean  Sea 
Region  with  the  number  of invasive  alien  species 
increasing  significantly  since  1970.  Finally,  the  unique 
biodiversity  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea  Region  is  also 
threatened by pollution from land-based sources, such as 
discharges of excess nutrients and hazardous substances, 
marine  litter,  over-fishing,  and  degradation  of  critical 
habitats. 

reliance  on 

With regards to specificities of the implementation of the 
MSFD in Malta, GES definitions are mainly qualitative and 
in some cases contain caveats that indicate a low level of 
ambition.  In  addition,  the  approach  used  to  define  GES 
varies  and  in  most  of  the  cases  no  threshold  values, 
baselines  or  trends  are  provided.  Thus,  GES  was  not 
measurable45.  It  is  therefore  too  early  to  say  whether 
Maltese  waters  are 
in  good  status  as  there  were 
weaknesses in identifying what GES is in the first place. 

Malta established a monitoring programme of its marine 
in  2014.  However,  because  this  monitoring 
waters 
programme  was  reported 
late  to  the  Commission, 
Malta's monitoring programme was not evaluated in the 

45 Commission Staff Working Document Accompanying the Commission 
Report assessing Member States' monitoring programmes under the 
Marine Strategy Framework Directive (COM(2017)3 and SWD(2017)1 
final) 

46. Commission Staff Working Document Accompanying the Commission 
Report assessing Member States' monitoring programmes under the 
Marine Strategy Framework Directive (COM(2017)3 and SWD(2017)1 
final) 

47 2012 Data provided by the European Environmental Agency – Not 

published 

48 Commission Staff Working Document Accompanying the Commission 
Report assessing Member States' monitoring programmes under the 
Marine Strategy Framework Directive (COM(2017)3 and SWD(2017)1 
final) 

49 As of 7.10.2016, Malta had not yet reported its programme of 

measures to the Commission. 

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Malta  15 

3. Ensuring citizens' health and quality of life 

Air quality 

The  EU  Clean  Air  Policy  and  legislation  require  that  air 
quality  in  the  Union  is  significantly  improved,  moving 
closer  to  the  WHO  recommended  levels.  Air  pollution 
and its impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity should be 
further reduced with the long-term aim of not exceeding 
critical  loads  and  levels.  This  requires  strengthening 
efforts  to  reach  full  compliance  with  Union  air  quality 
legislation  and  defining  strategic  targets  and  actions 
beyond 2020. 

The  EU  has  developed  a  comprehensive  suite  of  air 
legislation50,  which  establishes  health-based 
quality 
standards  and  objectives  for  a  number  of  air  pollutants. 

well  as  ammonia  (-16%)  ensure  air  emissions  for  these 
pollutants  are  within  the  currently  applicable  national 
emission  ceilings53.  While  total  emissions  of  volatile 
organic compounds increased with 65%, this pollutant is 
within its currently applicable national emission ceiling. 

In  the  last  years,  air  quality  in  Malta  is  reported  to  be 
generally  good,  with  exceptions.  Nevertheless,  for  the 
year 2013, the European Environment Agency estimated 
that  about  230  premature  deaths  were  attributable  to 
fine particulate matter 54 concentrations and 20 to ozone 
concentrations55.  This  is  due  also  to  exceedances  above 
the EU air quality standards such as shown in Figure 956.  

For 2014, exceedances above the EU air quality standards 
have  been  registered  related  to  target  values  and  the 

Figure 9: Attainment situation for PM10, NO2 and O3 in 2014 

that  up-to-date 

As  part  of  this,  Member  States  are  also  required  to 
information  on  ambient 
ensure 
concentrations  of  different  air  pollutants  is  routinely 
made  available  to  the  public.  In  addition,  the  National 
Emission  Ceilings  Directive  provides 
for  emission 
reductions  at  national  level  that  should  be  achieved  for 
main pollutants. 

The  emission  of  several  air  pollutants  has  decreased 
significantly  in  Malta51.  Reductions  between  1990  and 
2014 for sulphur oxides (-68%), nitrogen oxides52 (-1%) as 

50 European Commission, 2016. Air Quality Standards 
51 See EIONET Central Data Repository and Air pollutant emissions data 

viewer (NEC Directive) 

52 NOx is emitted during fuel combustion e.g. from industrial facilities 
and the road transport sector. NOx is a group of gases comprising 
nitrogen monoxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). 

long-term objectives regarding ozone57 concentration58. 

53 The current national emission ceilings apply since 2010 (Directive 
2001/81/EC); revised ceilings for 2020 and 2030 have been set by 
Directive (EU) 2016/2284 on the reduction of national emissions of 
certain atmospheric pollutants, amending Directive 2003/35/EC and 
repealing Directive 2001/81/EC. 

54 Particulate matter (PM) is a mixture of aerosol particles (solid and 
liquid) covering a wide range of sizes and chemical compositions. 
PM10 (PM2.5) refers to particles with a diameter of 10 (2.5) 
micrometres or less. PM is emitted from many human sources, 
including combustion. 

55 European Environment Agency, 2016. Air Quality in Europe – 2016 
Report (Table 10.2, please see details in this report as regards the 
underpinning  methodology) 

56 Based on European Environment Agency, 2016. Air Quality in Europe 

– 2016 Report. (Figures 4.1, 5.1 and 6.1) 

57 Low level ozone is produced by photochemical action on pollution 

and it is also a greenhouse gas. 

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Malta  16 

The  external  cost  of  traffic  congestion  has  been 
estimated at EUR 274 million per year for 2012 and EUR 
317  million  in  2020  if  there  are  no  policy  changes59. 
Besides  economic, 
this  situation  has  considerable 
environmental  impacts  as  well.  Indeed,  it  is  estimated 
that  the  health-related  external  costs  from  air  pollution 
in  Malta  are  above  EUR  182  million/year  (income 
adjusted, 2010), which include not only the intrinsic value 
of  living  a  full  health  life  but  also  direct  costs  to  the 
economy.  These  direct  economic  costs  relate  to  44 
thousand workdays lost each year due to sickness related 
to  air  pollution,  with  associated  costs  for  employers  of 
for 
EUR  5  million/year 
healthcare  of  above  EUR  0.6    million/year  (income 
adjusted, 2010), and for agriculture (crop losses) of EUR 2 
million/year  (2010)60.  These  costs  could  be  significantly 
reduced  by  stepping  up  pollution  control  or  prevention 
measures. 

(income  adjusted,  2010), 

Suggested action 

  Develop  a  comprehensive  strategy  and  action  plan  to 
tackle  traffic  congestion  in  order  to  decrease  air 
pollution and related health costs. 

Noise 

The  Environmental  Noise  Directive  provides  for  a 
common  approach  for  the  avoidance,  prevention  and 
reduction  of  harmful  effects  due  to  exposure  to 
environmental noise. 

Excessive  noise  is  one  of  the  main  causes  of  health 
issues61.  To alleviate  this,  the  EU  acquis  sets  out  several 
including  assessing  the  exposure  to 
requirements, 
environmental  noise  through  noise  mapping,  ensuring 
that information on environmental noise and its effects is 
made  available  to  the  public,  and  adopting  action  plans 
with  a  view  to  preventing  and  reducing  environmental 
noise  where  necessary  and  to  preserving  the  acoustic 
environment quality where it is good. 

Malta's 
implementation  of  the  Environmental  Noise 
Directive  is  delayed.  For  the  agglomeration62,  the  noise 
mapping  for  the  most  recent  reporting  round,  for  the 

58 See The EEA/Eionet Air Quality Portal and the related Central Data 

Repository 

59 This includes the opportunity costs of time and fuel wasted in 
congested traffic, accidents, air pollution climate change and noise. 
Source: tbc 
60 These figures are based on the Impact Assessment for the European 

Commission Integrated Clean Air Package (2013) 

61 WHO/JRC, 2011, Burden of disease from environmental noise, 

Fritschi, L., Brown, A.L., Kim, R., Schwela, D., Kephalopoulos, S. (eds), 
World Health Organization, Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, 
Denmark 

62 The Noise Directive requires Member States to prepare and publish, 
every 5 years, noise maps and noise management action plans for 
agglomerations with more than 100,000 inhabitants, and for major 
roads, railways and airports. Malta counts as one agglomeration. 

reference  year  2011,  is  complete.  However,  the  action 
plan for noise management in the current period has not 
been  adopted  for  the  agglomeration.  For  roads,  the 
Maltese authorities have fulfilled all their obligations. 

Water quality and management 

(including  surface  and  ground  waters) 

The  EU  water  policy  and  legislation  require  that  the 
impact  of  pressures  on  transitional,  coastal  and  fresh 
waters 
is 
significantly  reduced  to  achieve,  maintain  or  enhance 
good  status  of  water  bodies,  as  defined  by  the  Water 
Framework Directive; that citizens throughout the Union 
benefit from high standards for safe drinking and bathing 
water;  and  that  the  nutrient  cycle  (nitrogen  and 
phosphorus)  is  managed  in  a  more  sustainable  and 
resource-efficient way. 

SDG  6  encourages  countries  to  ensure  availability  and 
sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. 

The  main  overall  objective  of  EU  water  policy  and 
legislation  is  to  ensure  access  to  good  quality  water  in 
sufficient  quantity  for  all  Europeans.  The  EU  water 
acquis63  seeks  to  ensure  good  status  of  all  water  bodies 
across Europe by addressing pollution sources (from e.g. 
agriculture, urban areas and industrial activities), physical 
and  hydrological modifications  to  water  bodies)  and  the 
management of risks of flooding.  

(RBMPs)  are  a 
River  Basin  Management  Plans 
requirement  of  the  Water  Framework  Directive  and  a 
means  of  achieving  the  protection,  improvement  and 
sustainable use of the water environment across Europe. 
This includes surface freshwaters such as lakes and rivers, 
groundwater,  estuaries  and  coastal  waters  up  to  one 
nautical mile. 

Malta has provided information to the Commission from 
its  second  RBMP  in  2016.  However,  as  the  Commission 
has not yet been able to validate this information for all 
Member States, it is not reported here. 

In its first generation RBMP Malta reported the status of 
9  coastal  and  15  groundwater  bodies.  71%  of  natural 
surface  water  bodies  (coastal  areas)  achieve  a  good  or 
high ecological status64. Only 13% of groundwater bodies 
achieve good chemical status65 and 73% of groundwater 

63 This includes the Bathing Waters Directive (2006/7/EC); the Urban 

Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC) concerning 
discharges of municipal and some industrial waste waters; the 
Drinking Water Directive (98/83/EC) concerning potable water 
quality; the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) concerning 
water resources management; the Nitrates Directive (91/676/EEC) 
and the Floods Directive (2007/60/EC) 

64 Good ecological status is defined in the Water Framework Directive 

referring to the quality of the biological community, the hydrological 
characteristics and the chemical characteristics. 

65 Good chemical status is defined in the Water Framework Directive 

referring to compliance with all the quality standards established for 

Environmental Implementation Report – Malta 

 
 
                                                                                                 
                                                            
Malta  17 

tackle this specific issue. 

In a water-scarce country such as Malta, many economic 
activities, 
including  the  touristic  sector,  as  well  as 
industry and manufacturing, are heavily dependent on a 
stable  water  supply.  However,  Malta’s  groundwater 
resources are heavily exploited, at a rate well above the 
natural  recharge,  and  the  island’s  aquifers  are  slowly 
being invaded by seawater.71 

The  economic  argument  for  using  tariffs  to  regulate 
groundwater  use,  in  addition  to  other  measures,  is 
strong. If groundwater resources continue to deteriorate, 
both  in  qualitative  and  quantitative  terms,  as  it  is 
happening today, drinking water will have to be sourced 
almost  entirely  from  desalination,  which  is  definitely 
more  expensive.  The  costs  of  substituting  groundwater 
with  desalinated  water  were  estimated  around  EUR  1.7 
million per year (2006 estimate), based on energy costs. 
Malta has informed the Commission that ongoing energy 
efficiencies in the water sector show a decrease in energy 
demands and therefore energy costs  

addition, 

In 
seriously 
groundwater  bodies 
contaminated by nitrates from the downward movement 
of fertilizers and animal waste into the aquifer. 
Figure 10: Bathing water quality 2012 – 201572 

are 

bodies  are  in  good  quantitative  status66.  The  main 
pressure  on  Malta's  surface  water  is  diffuse  pollution67 
affecting 67% of water bodies followed by point sources 
of  pollution  affecting  56%  and  coastal  management 
affecting 33% of water bodies.  

This  first  Maltese  RBMP has  a  number  of  deficiencies  in 
view  of  the  uncertainty  about  the  status,  pressures  and 
effectiveness  of  Programmes  of  Measures.  In  particular 
there  are  weaknesses  in  monitoring  and  methods  for 
assessment  and  classification  of  the  status  of  coastal 
waters.68 Private abstraction is an important pressure on 
groundwater,  whereas  the  quantitative  status  is  not 
monitored  adequately.  Exemptions  are  applied  without 
transparent  justifications.  The  planned  measures  are 
expected to result in improvement of ecological status of 
surface  water  bodies  by  14%,  chemical  status  of 
groundwater by 7% and quantitative status by 13%.  

As  regards  drinking  water,  Malta  reaches  very  high 
compliance  rates  of  99-100%  for  microbiological  and 
chemical parameters, but shows a 90.1% compliance rate 
with  indicator  parameters  laid  down  in  the  Drinking 
Water Directive69. The relatively low compliance rates for 
indicator  parameters  in  drinking  water  in  Malta  are 
predominantly caused by chloride and sodium due to the 
likely  intrusion  of  sea  water,  but  which  does  not  pose  a 
risk to health. 

As shown in Figure 10, in 2015, in Malta out of 87 bathing 
waters,  97.7  %  were  of  excellent  quality,  2.3  %  of  good 
quality,  showing  a  slight  decrease  since  201470.  All 
bathing waters had at least sufficient quality in 2015. 

is  not 

treated 

Since  2012,  100%  of  the  waste  water  load  in  Malta  was 
connected  to  a  collecting  system.  However,  the  load 
collected 
in  compliance  with  EU 
requirements  as  regards  the  secondary  treatment 
requirement  and  the  more  stringent  treatment.  Malta 
has indicated that the non-compliance is due to an excess 
of  farm  manure  discharges  in  collecting  systems  leading 
to  poor  performance  of  the  plants  where  these 
discharges enter. Malta reported that it published a Farm 
Waste Management Plan in March 2016, whose aim is to 

chemical substances at European level. 

66 For groundwater, a precautionary approach has been taken that 

comprises a prohibition on direct discharges to groundwater, and a 
requirement to monitor groundwater bodies.  

67 Diffuse pollution comes from widespread activities with no discrete 

source. 

68 Malta has informed the Commission that water level monitoring 

networks are installed in the two main mean sea level groundwater 
bodies, and that monitoring strategies which go over and above the 
requirements of the WFD are being developed by MT during the 
course of the 2nd RBMP for the main sea level groundwater bodies. 

69 Commission's Synthesis Report on the Quality of Drinking Water in 
the Union examining Member States' reports for the 2011-2013 
period, foreseen under Article 13(5) of Directive 98/83/EC; 
COM(2016)666  

With  regards  to  nitrates  contamination,  despite  the 
existence  of  rules  for  water  protection,  implementation 
on the ground and enforcement remain very challenging. 
The  whole  of  Malta  is  designated  as  Nitrate  Vulnerable 
Zone  under  the  EU  Nitrates  Directive  and  is  subject  to 
restrictions upon management under the Nitrates Action 
Plan for Malta and related national legislation. Malta has 
informed that the second RBMP also has a focus in this. 

71 Malta has informed the Commission that recent monitoring data 

indicates that the monitoring of the groundwater bodies which are 
affected by overexploitation are in a stable state, which would 
suggest  a balance between abstraction and recharge. 

70 European Environment Agency, 2016. European bathing water quality 

72 European Environment Agency, State of bathing water country 

in 2015, p. 30 

reports -Malta, 2016 

Environmental Implementation Report – Malta 

 
 
                                                                                                 
 
                                                            
Malta  18 

Floods in Malta are of the flash flood type73 and 13 floods 
occurred  between  2002-2013,  of  which  one  (2003)  with 
an  estimated  damage  of  EUR  30  million74.  Malta  has 
received EUR 0.96 million from the EU Solidarity Fund for 
the  damage  caused  by  storm  and  floods  in  2013.  A 
National  Flood  Relief  project,  co-funded  by  the  EU 
Cohesion Fund, is being implemented.  

Suggested action 

including air quality and housing77.  

The  European  Commission  will 
benchmark system in 201778. 

launch  a  new  EU 

The  EU  stimulates  green  cities  through  awards  and 
funding,  such  as  the  EU  Green  Capital  Award  aimed  at 
cities  with  more  than  100,000  inhabitants  and  the  EU 
Green  Leaf  initiative  aimed  at  cities  and  towns,  with 
between 20,000 and 100,000 inhabitants.  

to 

justify 

  Improve  monitoring  and  status  assessment  under  the 
Water  Framework  Directive75.  Better 
the 
exemptions 
the  Water  Framework  Directive 
environmental objectives applied on the basis of article 
4(4).  Further 
improve  the  RBMP  Programme  of 
Measures  to  address  all  relevant  pressures  and 
implementation 
to 
agricultural pollution by nutrients and over-abstraction 
of  groundwater.  Measures  should  be  properly 
financed. 

in  particular 

linked 

gaps, 

  Combine flood management with water retention in a 
comprehensive way, considering also the serious water 
scarcity problems. 

  Strengthen  control  and  enforcement  of  measures  to 

prevent and reduce nitrate pollution.  

Enhancing the sustainability of cities  

The  EU  Policy  on  the  urban  environment  encourages 
cities  to 
implement  policies  for  sustainable  urban 
planning and design, including innovative approaches for 
urban  public 
sustainable 
buildings,  energy  efficiency  and  urban  biodiversity 
conservation.  

transport  and  mobility, 

SDG11  aims  at  making  cities  and  human  settlements 
inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. 

Europe is a Union of cities and towns; around 75% of the 
EU  population  are  living  in  urban  areas.76  The  urban 
environment  poses  particular  challenges 
the 
environment  and  human  health,  whilst  also  providing 
opportunities and efficiency gains in the use of resources.  

for 

The  Member  States,  European  institutions,  cities  and 
stakeholders have prepared a new Urban Agenda for the 
EU  (incorporating  the  Smart  Cities  initiative)  to  tackle 
these  issues  in  a  comprehensive  way,  including  their 
connections with social and economic challenges. At the 
heart  of  this  Urban  Agenda  will  be  the  development  of 
twelve  partnerships  on  the  identified  urban  challenges, 

Around  34  per  cent  of  Malta  is  built  up  area.  It  is  the 
country  with  the  highest  proportion  of  built  up  areas 
within  the  whole  EU.  Given  the  limited  space  available, 
land  use  and  urban  planning  issues  are  at  the  centre  of 
discussions in Malta.  

Malta  also  has  9.5  per  cent  of  the  total  road  network 
heavily congested when compared to the EU average of 
1.7 per cent. The average number of seconds of delay per 
km  is  estimated  at  16.93  seconds  when  the  European 
average  is  5.74  seconds.  The  results  also  suggest  the 
strongest  deterioration  in  the  levels  of  congestion  of  all 
member  states.  This  growth  in  car  dependence  has  had 
impacts  on  the  island’s  environment  and  public  health 
(see also the section on air quality).  

improve  and  contribute 

Making  cities  more  sustainable  can  be  stimulated  in 
various  ways.  Recurring  events  are  able  to  energise 
follow-up  activities.  An  example  is  the  Valletta  Green 
Festival  which  takes  place  since  2014  and  aims  to  raise 
awareness, 
the 
ecological aspects of Malta's capital city and that of other 
towns in Malta and Gozo. Another notable initiative was 
Environment 
the 
conference  which  took  place  on  16-18  March  2016  and 
focused on new opportunities. Malta will be using 2014-
20  ESIF  to  support  clean  urban 
infrastructure  and 
promotion.  

Sustainable  Built 

international 

towards 

73 Flash flood type following intense rainfall events are a result of 

uncontrolled surface water runoff in urbanised dry valley channels. 
74 RPA, 2014. Study on Economic and Social Benefits of Environmental 

Protection and Resource Efficiency Related to the European 
Semester. Study for the European Commission, Annex 1: Country 
fiches 

75 The full set of recommendations in relation to the WFD are here. 
76 European Environment Agency, Urban environment 

77 http://urbanagendaforthe.eu/ 
78 The Commission is developing an Urban Benchmarking and 

Monitoring ('UBaM') tool to be launched in 2017. Best practices 
emerge and these will be better disseminated via the app featuring 
the UBaM tool, and increasingly via e.g. EUROCITIES, ICLEI, CEMR, 
Committee of the Regions, Covenant of Mayors and others. 

Environmental Implementation Report – Malta 

 
 
                                                            
 
                                                            
Malta  19 

International agreements  

The  EU  Treaties  require  that  the  Union  policy  on  the 
environment  promotes  measures  at  the  international 
level  to  deal  with  regional  or  worldwide  environmental 
problems. 

Most  environmental  problems  have  a  transboundary 
nature  and  often  a  global  scope  and  they  can  only  be 
addressed effectively through international co-operation. 
International  environmental  agreements  concluded  by 
the Union are binding upon the institutions of the Union 
and  on  its Member  States. This  requires  the  EU and the 
Member  States  to  sign,  ratify  and  effectively  implement 
all  relevant  multilateral  environmental  agreements 
(MEAs) in a timely manner. This will also be an important 
contribution  towards  the  achievement  of  the  SDGs, 
which Member States committed to in 2015 and include 
many  commitments  contained  already  in  legally  binding 
agreements. 

The  fact  that  some  Member  States  did  not  sign  and/or 
ratify  a  number  of  MEAs  compromises  environmental 
implementation,  including  within  the  Union,  as  well  as 
in  related  negotiations  and 
the  Union’s  credibility 
international  meetings  where 
the 
participation of third countries to such agreements is an 
established  EU  policy  objective.  In  agreements  where 
voting takes place it has a direct impact on the number of 
votes  to  be  cast  by  the  EU.  Currently,  Malta  has  signed 
but  not  yet  ratified  the  Stockholm  Convention  on 
Persistent  Organic  Pollutants,  the  Offshore  Protocol  of 
the  Barcelona  Convention79  and  the  Protocol  on 
Integrated Coastal Zone Management.  

supporting 

Protocol 

the  Gothenburg 

It has neither signed nor ratified three agreements under 
the  Convention  on  Long-range  Transboundary  Air 
Pollution: 
to  Abate 
Acidification,  Eutrophication  and  Ground-level  Ozone, 
the Persistent Organic Pollutions Protocol and the Heavy 
Metals  Protocol.  The  same  applies  to  the  Rotterdam 
Convention  on  a  Prior  Informed  Consent  Procedure  for 
Certain  Hazardous  Chemicals  and  Pesticides 
in 
International Trade, the Helsinki Convention on Industrial 
Accidents,  the    African-Eurasian  Migratory  Waterbird 
Agreement, the Nagoya Protocol80, and the International 
Convention for the Regulation of Whaling. 

Suggested action 

  Increase  efforts  to  be  party  to  relevant  multilateral 
environmental agreements, by signing and ratifying the 
remaining agreements. 

79 Protocol for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against 
Pollution Resulting from Exploration and Exploitation of the 
Continental Shelf and the Seabed and its Subsoil.    

80 Nagoya protocol on access to genetic resources and the fair and 
equitable sharing of benefits arising from their utilization to the 
Convention on biological diversity 

Environmental Implementation Report – Malta 

 
 
                                                            
 
 
 
 
Part II: Enabling Framework: Implementation Tools 

4. Market based instruments and investment  

Malta  20 

the future in terms of clean up, health costs, etc. Green 
taxes  generate  sizeable 
in 
implementation, and have a useful additional function in 
the total policy package. 

revenues,  are  simple 

Figure  11:  Environmental  tax  revenues  as  a  share  of 
total  revenues  from  taxes  and  social  contributions 
(excluding imputed social contributions) in 201483 

Green taxation and environmentally harmful 
subsidies 

The Circular Economy Action Plan encourages the use of 
financial  incentives  and  economic  instruments,  such  as 
taxation  to  ensure  that  product  prices  better  reflect 
environmental costs. The phasing out of environmentally 
harmful  subsidies  is  monitored  in  the  context  of  the 
European  Semester  and  in  national  reform  programmes 
submitted by Member States. 

Taxing pollution and resource use can generate increased 
revenue  and  bring  important  social  and  environmental 
benefits. 

Expressed  as  a  proportion  of  GDP,  Malta  ranked  10th 
among  the  EU-28  in  2014  in  terms  of  revenue  derived 
from  environmental  taxes.  Malta  ranked  low,  in  23rd 
place,  for  the  percentage  share  of  GDP  from  energy 
taxes, but was in 2nd place in terms of percentage share 
of GDP from transport taxes (excluding fuel).  

Malta is one of the EU countries that could benefit from a 
redesign  of  environment-related  taxation,  among  others 
because of its subsidies on company cars. A 2016 study81 
suggests  that  there  is  considerable  potential  for  shifting 
taxes from labour to environmental taxes in Malta. Under 
a good practice scenario82, these taxes could generate an 
additional  EUR  0.05  billion  in  2018,  rising  to  EUR  0.11 
billion 
is 
equivalent to 0.57% and 0.83% of GDP in 2018 and 2030, 
respectively. 
In  the  same  year  environmental  tax 
revenues  accounted  for  8.51%  of  total  revenues  from 
taxes  and  social-security  contributions  (EU  28  average: 
6.35%) as shown in Figure 11.  

in  real  2015  terms).  This 

in  2030  (both 

Using  the  full  potential  of  taxing  pollution  and  resource 
use  would  not  only  bring  in  additional  revenues  to 
substitute  for  cuts 
in  spending  and  therefore  help 
achieving a similar net budgetary outcome, but also help 
discouraging  activities  that  will  bring  additional  cost  in 

81 Eunomia Research and Consulting, IEEP, Aarhus University, ENT, 

2016. Study on Assessing the Environmental Fiscal Reform Potential 
for the EU28. N.B. National governments are responsible for setting 
tax rates within the EU Single Market rules and this report is not 
suggesting concrete changes as to the level of environmental 
taxation. It merely presents the findings of the 2016 study by Eunomia 
et al on the potential benefits various environmental taxes could 
bring. It is then for the national authorities to assess this study and 
their concrete impacts in the national context. A first step in this 
respect, already done by a number of Member States, is to set up 
expert groups to assess these and make specific proposals. 

82 The good practice scenario means benchmarking to a successful 
taxation practice in another Member State. 

It  should  be  noted,  however,  that  specific  national 
circumstances will determine what is feasible in practice, 
and that changes in tax policy should be preceded by an 
assessment  to  identify  potential  negative  distributional 
impacts.  

Compared  to  other  Member  States,  Malta  could 
investigate  if  further  taxation  of  transport  fuels,  a  non-
hazardous  landfill  tax,  and  a  water  abstraction  tax  or 
charge  would  have  the  dual  benefit  of  improving  the 
environment and raising additional revenues. 

In  2013  all  Member  States  agreed  to  phase  out 
environmentally harmful subsidies 'without delay'. Malta 

83 Eurostat, Environmental tax revenues, accessed October 2016 

Environmental Implementation Report – Malta 

 
 
 
 
                                                            
 
                                                            
has  not  yet  presented  a  policy  programme  with  such  a 
target.  Harmonisation  of  fuel  taxes  and  reducing  car 
taxation subsidies could be part such a programme. 

Green Public Procurement  

The  EU  green  public  procurement  policies  encourage 
Member States to take further steps to reach the target 
of applying green procurement criteria to at least 50% of 
public tenders. 

Green  Public  Procurement  (GPP)  is  a  process  whereby 
public  authorities  seek  to  procure  goods,  services  and 
works  with  a  reduced  environmental  impact  throughout 
their  life-cycle  when  compared  to  goods,  services  and 
works  with  the  same  primary  function  that  would 
otherwise be procured.  

this  money 

The  purchasing  power  of  public  procurement  in  the  EU 
equals to approximately 14% of GDP84. A substantial part 
of 
is  spent  on  sectors  with  high 
environmental impact such as construction or transport, 
so  GPP  can  help  to  significantly  lower  the  impact  of 
public  spending  and 
innovative 
businesses.  The  Commission  has  proposed  EU  GPP 
criteria85. 

foster  sustainable 

Malta  adopted  a  National  Acton  Plan  (NAP)  in  August 
2011.  The  review  process  started  in  2015.  There  is  no 
specific  national legislation  concerning  GPP,  however an 
administrative  procedure 
in  place  whereby  all 
is 
contracting  authorities  are  required  to  complete  a  GPP 
checklist prior to tender publication. A circular has been 
issued  in  December  2014  outlining  the  decentralization 
of administrative responsibilities to all line ministries with 
respect  to  GPP.  Each  ministry  has  nominated  a  GPP 
Coordinator with a remit to ensure that all tenders issued 
by  that  ministry  are  in  accord  with  the  national  GPP 
criteria.86 

for 

Sustainable  Development, 

During 2015, the Green Public Procurement Office within 
the  Ministry 
the 
Environment and Climate Change (MSDEC) continued its 
mainstreaming  mainly  through  substantive  training 
sessions  across  all  Government  sectors.  According  to 
Malta87, this led to a more sustainable public expenditure 
model through the inclusion of the national GPP criteria. 
GPP criteria have been developed at the national level for 
18 product groups, for which the NAP establishes targets 
ranging from 10 % up to 100 %.  

Malta  21 

Additionally, actions on GPP will continue in 2016 with an 
emphasis  on  the  development  of  the  second  National 
Action  plan  to  further  integrate  resource  efficiency  and 
sustainable  production  and  consumption  principles  into 
public expenditure. 

Investments: the contribution of EU funds  

European  Structural  and  Investment  Funds  Regulations 
provide  that  Member  States  to  promote  environment 
and  climate  objectives  in  their  funding  strategies  and 
programmes 
territorial 
cohesion,  rural  development  and  maritime  policy,  and 
reinforce the capacity of implementing bodies to deliver 
cost-effective and sustainable investments in these areas. 

for  economic, 

social  and 

Making  good  use  of  the  European  Structural  and 
Investment  Funds  (ESIF)88  is  essential  to  achieve  the 
environmental goals and integrate these into other policy 
areas.  Other  instruments  such  as  the  Horizon  2020,  the 
LIFE  programme  and  the  EFSI89  may  also  support 
implementation and spread of best practice. 

to 

EU 

funding 

(European  Regional 
In  2007-2013, 
Development  Fund  and  Cohesion  Fund) 
the 
environmental  sector  was  very  important,  EUR  89.2 
million for climate change and resource efficient and EUR 
160.9  million  for  safeguarding  the  environment  and  risk 
prevention,  supporting  key  infrastructure  investments 
the 
the 
which  contributed 
environment  conditions  in  Malta.  Examples  of  these  are 
Malta's South Sewage Treatment facility as well as other 
investments  in  solid  waste  management  and  flash  flood 
risk prevention infrastructure. 

improvement  of 

to 

The  Partnership  Agreement  (PA)  2014-2020  was  agreed 
in  October  2014.  The  main  environmental  challenge  is 
the  non-fulfilment  of  the  water  ex  ante  conditionality 
which aims to ensure that Malta will ensure the existence 
of  a  water  pricing  policy  which  provides  adequate 
incentives for users to use water resources efficiently and 
an  adequate  contribution  of  the  different  water  uses  to 
the  recovery  of  the  costs  of  water  services  at  a  rate 
determined  in  the  approved  river  basin  management 
plan for investment supported by the programmes.90.  

implies 

investing  EUR  729  million 

The  PA 
in  total 
Cohesion  Policy  funding  over  2014-2020  (current  prices, 
including  EUR  17  million 
for  European  Territorial 
Cooperation  funding  and  EUR  3.9  million  for  the  FEAD 

84 European Commission, 2015. Public procurement 
85 In the Communication “Public procurement for a better environment” 
(COM /2008/400) the Commission recommended the creation of a 
process for setting common GPP criteria. The basic concept of GPP 
relies on having clear, verifiable, justifiable and ambitious 
environmental criteria for products and services, based on a life-cycle 
approach and scientific evidence base. 

86 European Commission, 2015. Documentation on National GPP Action 

Plans 

87 National Reform Programme 2016 of Malta, p. 51-52. 

88 ESIF comprises five funds – the European Regional Development 
Funds (ERDF), the Cohesion Fund (CF), the European Social Fund 
(ESF), the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development 
(EAFRD), and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). The 
ERDF, the CF and the ESF together form the Cohesion Policy funds. 

89 European Investment Bank, 2016 European Fund for Strategic 

Investments 

90 Operational Programme , Fostering a competitive and sustainable 
economy to meet our challenges  p. 326  

Environmental Implementation Report – Malta 

 
 
                                                            
                                                            
allocation). Malta also receives EUR 97.3 million for rural 
development  and  EUR  22.6  million  for  fisheries  and  the 
maritime sector.  

 Figure  12:  European  Structural  and  Investment  Funds 
2014-2020: Budget Malta by theme, EUR billion91 

Malta  22 

The  National  Rural  Development  Program  of  Malta,  its 
EARDF  part,  amounts  to  EUR  97.3  million.  Budget  for 
agri-environmental-climate  measures  represents  39%  of 
the  total  EAFRD  budget  (but  it  is  to  cover  only  671  ha, 
which is very low percentage of utilized agricultural area, 
ca 5%). The measures list the most basic, good standard 
practice  to  be  supported,  by  highest  rates  per  ha  in  the 
whole EU. The RDP addresses nutrient overload in water 
bodies, among others by targeting livestock farming and 
prioritising investments in manure storage. 

for 

Malta  did  not  programme  specific  measures  on 
compensation 
from 
limitations 
implementation  of  Natura  2000  (nor  WFD).  The  only 
dedicated support for Natura 2000 on agricultural land is 
supporting pollination services (by domestic bees). Small 
forestry  measure 
includes  afforestation  by  native 
endemic species, which is appreciated.  

emanating 

and 

With regard to the integration of environmental concerns 
into  the  Common  Agricultural  Policy  (CAP),  the  two  key 
areas are, first, using Rural Development funds to pay for 
other 
land  management 
environmental 
environmental  measures,  while  avoiding 
financing 
measures  which  could  damage  the  environment;  and 
secondly,  ensuring  an  effective  implementation  of  the 
first pillar of the CAP with regard to cross compliance and 
1st  pillar  'greening'.  30  %  of  direct  payment  envelope 
(out of total EUR 30.7 million 2015-202092 is allocated to 
greening  practices  beneficial  for  the  environment.  An 
environmentally  ambitious  implementation  of  1st  pillar 
greening  would 
the 
clearly  help 
environmental  situation  in  areas  not  covered  by  rural 
development, including intensive area, and if appropriate 
Malta could review its implementation of this. 

improve 

to 

For 2015 Malta proposed to allow 7 elements laid down 
by the regulation as Ecological Focus Area (out of 19- 9 of 
which  are  landscape  features).  However,  in  the  end  the 
only  ones  activated  (as  being  responded  by  farmers) 
were  land  laying  fallow  and  -  less  ambitious  -  nitrogen 
fixing  crops.  Due  to  small  parcels  and  farms,  it  is 
expected  that  few  holdings  will  need  to  implement 
greening.  

With regard to environmental expenditure, the allocation 
for  Thematic  Objective  (TO)  4  (low  carbon  economy)  is 
EUR  46  million 
(ERDF)  plus  EUR  8.4  million 
(EAFRD/EMFF),  for  TO5  (adaptation  to  climate  change 
and  prevention  and  risk  management)  EUR  15  million 
(EAFRD), and for TO6 (environment and cultural heritage) 
EUR  250  million  (EUR  77  million  ERDF,  EUR  141  million 
CF,  EUR  20  million  EAFRD,  EUR  12  million  EMFF).    EUR 
28.4  million  (ERDF)  plus  EUR  76  million  (CF)  is  allocated 
for  TO7  (sustainable  transport).  Figure  12  depicts  the 
2014-2020  EU  Structural  and  Investment  Funds  budget 
allocation for Malta. 

EUR 58 million ERDF and CF will contribute to mitigation 
and adaptation to climate change.  

sector 

environmental 

The  expected  results  from  ERDF  and  CF  investments  in 
the 
that  69,000 
tonnes/year of additional waste recycling capacity will be 
created;  32000  additional  persons  will  be    served  by 
improved  water  supply;  10  Hectares  of  land  will  be 
rehabilitated.   

include 

On  this  basis,  in  2014-2020,  Malta  will  manage  three 
operational programmes (OPs) under EU Cohesion Policy. 
The  ERDF/CF  OP  (adopted  December  2014)  contains 
most of the environmental investments. 

91 European Commission, European Structural and Investment Funds 

Data By Country 

92  Commission delegated regulation (EU) 2015/851) establishing rules 
for direct payments to farmers under support schemes within the 
framework of the common agricultural policy 

Environmental Implementation Report – Malta 

 
 
 
                                                            
                                                            
5. Effective governance and knowledge 

Malta  23 

SDG  16  aims  at  providing  access  to  justice  and  building 
effective,  accountable  and  inclusive  institutions  at  all 
levels. SDG 17 aims at better implementation, improving 
policy  coordination  and  policy  coherence,  stimulating 
science, 
innovation,  establishing 
partnerships and developing measurements of progress. 

technology 

and 

Effective governance of EU environmental legislation and 
policies  requires  having  an  appropriate 
institutional 
framework,  policy  coherence  and  coordination,  applying 
legal  and  non-legal  instruments,  engaging  with  non-
governmental  stakeholders,  and  having  adequate  levels 
of  knowledge  and  skills93.  Successful  implementation 
depends, to a large extent, on central, regional and local 
government  fulfilling  key  legislative  and  administrative 
tasks,  notably  adoption  of 
implementing 
legislation,  co-ordinated  action  to  meet  environmental 
objectives  and  correct  decision-making  on  matters  such 
as  industrial  permits.  Beyond  fulfilment  of  these  tasks, 
government  must 
to  ensure  day-to-day 
compliance  by  economic  operators,  utilities  and 
individuals  ("compliance  assurance").  Civil  society  also 
has  a  role  to  play,  including  through  legal  action.  To 
underpin the roles of all actors, it is crucial to collect and 
share  knowledge  and  evidence  on  the  state  of  the 
environment  and  on  environmental  pressures,  drivers 
and impacts. 

intervene 

sound 

Equally,  effective  governance  of  EU  environmental 
legislation  and  policies  benefits  from  a  dialogue  within 
Member  States  and  between  Member  States  and  the 
Commission  on  whether  the  current  EU  environmental 
legislation  is  fit  for  purpose.  Legislation  can  only  be 
properly 
into  account 
experiences  at  Member  State  level  with  putting  EU 
commitments  into  effect.  The  Make  it  Work  initiative,  a 
Member  State  driven  project,  established 
in  2014, 
organizes a discussion on how the clarity, coherence and 
structure  of  EU  environmental 
legislation  can  be 
improved without lowering existing protection standards. 

implemented  when 

it  takes 

Effective governance within central, regional 
and local government 

Those  involved  in  implementing  environment  legislation 
at  Union,  national,  regional  and  local  levels  need  to  be 
equipped  with  the  knowledge,  tools  and  capacity  to 
improve  the  delivery  of  benefits  from  that  legislation, 
and the governance of the enforcement process. 

Capacity to implement rules 

The  assessment  here 
is  only  preliminary  and  the 
Commission  has  work  ongoing  to  improve  its  country-
specific  knowledge  about  quality  and  functioning  of 
Member States' administrative systems. 

is 

that 

crucial 

regional  and 

It 
local 
central, 
administrations  have  the  necessary  capacities  and  skills 
and training to carry out their own tasks and co-operate 
and  co-ordinate  effectively  with  each  other,  within  a 
system of multi-level governance. 

The  Maltese  public  sector  scores  high  in  terms  of 
efficiency and effectiveness. According to the World Bank 
2015  Worldwide  Governance  Indicators,  Malta  scores 
80%  for  the  government  effectiveness  indicator,  which 
captures  the  perceptions  of  the  quality  of  public 
services94. 

However,  there  is  also  much  room  for  improvement  as 
several structural challenges pose a barrier to innovation. 
The  recent  assessment  by  the  European  Commission 
within  the  European  Semester  process  concluded  that 
the  low  efficiency  of  government  administration  and  of 
the  judicial  system,  an  inefficient  transport  system,  and 
skills mismatches lower Malta’s attractiveness to foreign 
investors and hamper the ability of businesses to invest. 
A  weak  human 
in  science  and 
resources  base 
technologies  and  the  lack  of  a  critical  mass  in  specific 
innovate 
research  areas  hinders 
to 
(European  Commission,  201695).  Stronger 
linkages 
between  the  academic  and  the  private  sector  for 
effective  knowledge  transfer  are  needed,  as  well  as 
further investment in R&D. 

the  capacity 

In  April  2016,  a  reorganisation  has  occurred  in  order  to 
simplify  and  speed  up  permitting  procedures  with  the 
result  that  the  section  of  Environmental  Permitting  is 
now  within  the  Environment  and  Resources  Authority.  

93 The Commission has work ongoing to improve the country-specific 
knowledge about quality and functioning of the administrative 
systems of Member States. 

94 World Bank, Worldwide Governance Indicators 2015 
95 European Commission, Council Recommendation on the 2016 
national reform programme of Malta and delivering a Council 
opinion on the 2016 stability programme of Malta, p. 4. 

Environmental Implementation Report – Malta 

 
 
 
                                                            
                                                            
Finally, specific aspects of the consultation processes for 
new  legislation  have  to  be  improved,  including  more 
feedback  to  stakeholders  on  how  their  input  has  been 
taken into account. 
In  the  Partnership  Agreement  (2014)96  for  Malta  on  the 
EU  Structural  and  Investment  Funds  2014-2020,  it  was 
recognised  that  resources  for  environmental  permitting 
procedures should be further enhanced during the 2014-
2020 funding period97.  

Moreover,  there  is  a  systemic  problem  of  lack  of  timely 
reporting under EU environmental legislation. This might 
be related to shortage of staff resources. 

legislation  related 
and 

Arrangements  for  the  effective  application  of  Union 
environmental 
to  Environmental 
Impact  Assessment 
Strategic  Environmental 
Assessment  are  in  place,  as  well  as  arrangements  for 
information  for  staff 
training  and  dissemination  of 
involved. 
EU 
environmental  legislation  relating  to  land  use  (EIA  and 
SEA  Directives)  is  of  particular  importance,  especially  in 
view of the fact that Malta has the largest proportion of 
built up areas within the whole EU98.  

implementation 

proper 

The 

of 

transposition  of 

The 
revised  Directive  on 
the 
Environmental  Impact  Assessment  (EIA)99    will  be  an 
opportunity  to  streamline  the  regulatory  framework  on 
environmental assessments. The Commission encourages 
the  streamlining  of  the  environmental  assessments 
because  this  approach  reduces  duplication  and  avoids 
unnecessary  overlaps 
in  environmental  assessments 
applicable  for  a  particular  project.  The  Commission  has 
issued  a  guidance  document  in  2016100  regarding  the 
setting  up  of  coordinated  and/or  joint  procedures  that 
are simultaneously subject to assessments under the EIA 
Directive, Habitats Directive, Water Framework Directive, 
and the Industrial Emissions Directive. 

Suggested action 

  Improve 

the 

timely 

reporting  under 

the  EU 
environmental  legislation  and  ensure  sufficient  staff 
in  particular  and  more 
capacity  for  this  purpose 
generally  for  a  more  effective  implementation  and 
enforcement of the environmental policy. 

Coordination and integration 

The  Ministry 

for  Sustainable  Development, 

the 

96 Partnership Agreement of Malta 2014-2020, p. 170. 
97 Partnership Agreement of Malta 2014-2020, p. 243. 
98 Eurostat, Land cover statistics, accessed June 2016  
99 The transposition of Directive 2014/52/EU is due in May 2017. 
100 European Commission, 2016. Commission notice — Commission 
guidance document on streamlining environmental assessments 
conducted under Article 2(3) of the Environmental Impact 
Assessment Directive (Directive 2011/92/EU of the European 
Parliament and of the Council, as amended by Directive 
2014/52/EU). 

Malta  24 

Environment, and  Climate  Change  (MSDEC)  is  the  public 
authority  in  charge  of  coordinating  and  streamlining 
environmental policy developments in Malta.  

of 

sustainable 

In  2014, 
the  MSDEC  underwent  organisational 
improvements  in  setting  up  a  Strategic  Office  dedicated 
development 
to  mainstreaming 
approaches  and  environmental  matters 
the 
in 
operational work of the ministry.  Within this division the 
policy streams of Sustainable Development, Environment 
and  Climate  Change  are  being  developed  in  conjunction 
with 
and  Programme 
Implementation  Directorate.    Together  these  structures 
are  targeting  to  secure  a  more  integrated  approach  for 
policy development and implementation 

the  Policy  Development 

Malta  has  recently  established  an  Environment  and 
Resources  Authority  whose  main  goals  are:  (i)  to 
mainstream environmental targets and objectives across 
Government  and  society;  (ii)  to  take  the  leading  role  in 
advising Government on environmental policy-making at 
the  national 
in  the  context  of 
international environmental negotiations; (iii) to develop 
evidence-based policy; backed by a robust data gathering 
structure;  and  (iv)  to  draw  up  plans,  provide  a  licensing 
regime  and  monitor  activities  having  an  environmental 
impact  and  to  integrate  environmental  considerations 
within the development control process101. 

level,  as  well  as 

Suggested action 

  Ensure  that  the  newly  established  Environment  and 
Resources  Authority  has  strong  responsibilities.  There 
should  be  clear  and  transparent  processes  for  the 
authorization  of  facilities  and  activities  that  have 
impact on the environment. 

Compliance assurance 

EU  law  generally  and  specific  provisions  on  inspections, 
other  checks,  penalties  and  environmental  liability  help 
lay  the  basis  for  the  systems  Member  States  need  to 
have 
secure  compliance  with  EU 
to 
environmental rules. 

in  place 

Public  authorities  help  ensure  accountability  of  duty-
holders by monitoring and promoting compliance and by 
taking credible follow-up action (i.e. enforcement) when 
breaches occur or liabilities arise. Compliance monitoring 
can  be  done  both  on  the 
initiative  of  authorities 
themselves  and  in  response to  citizen complaints. It  can 
involve  using  various  kinds  of  checks, 
including 
inspections  for  permitted  activities,  surveillance  for 
possible  illegal  activities,  investigations  for  crimes  and 
audits for systemic weaknesses. Similarly, there is a range 
of  means  to  promote  compliance,  including  awareness-
raising  campaigns  and  use  of  guidance  documents  and 

101 Government of Malta, Environment & Resources Authority  

Environmental Implementation Report – Malta 

 
 
                                                            
                                                            
liability 

include  administrative  action 

online  information  tools.  Follow-up  to  breaches  and 
liabilities  can 
(e.g. 
withdrawal of a permit), use of criminal law102 and action 
law  (e.g.  required  remediation  after 
under 
liability  rules)  and 
damage  from  an  accident  using 
contractual  law  (e.g.  measures  to  require  compliance 
with  nature  conservation  contracts).  Taken  together,  all 
of these interventions represent "compliance assurance" 
as shown in Figure 13.  

Best  practice  has  moved  towards  a  risk-based  approach 
at strategic and operational levels in which the best mix 
of compliance monitoring, promotion and enforcement is 
directed at the most serious problems. Best practice also 
recognises  the  need  for  coordination  and  cooperation 
between  different  authorities  to  ensure  consistency, 
avoid  duplication  of  work  and  reduce  administrative 
burden. Active participation in established pan-European 
networks  of  inspectors,  police,  prosecutors  and  judges, 
such as IMPEL103, EUFJE104, ENPE105 and EnviCrimeNet106, 
is  a  valuable  tool  for  sharing  experience  and  good 
practices. 

Figure 13: Environmental compliance assurance 

Currently, there exist a number of sectoral obligations on 
inspections  and  the  EU  directive  on  environmental 
liability  (ELD)107  provides  a  means  of  ensuring  that  the 
"polluter-pays  principle" 
is  applied  when  there  are 
accidents  and  incidents  that  harm  the  environment. 
There 
information  giving 
insights  into  existing  strengths  and  weaknesses  in  each 
Member State.  

is  also  publically  available 

For  each  Member  State,  the  following  were  therefore 
reviewed:  use  of  risk-based  compliance  assurance; 
coordination  and  co-operation  between  authorities  and 
participation in pan-European networks; and key aspects 

102European Union, Environmental Crime Directive 2008/99/EC 
103 European Union Network for the Implementation and Enforcement 

of Environmental Law 

104 European Union Forum of judges for the environment 
105 The European Network of Prosecutors for the Environment 
106 EnviCrimeNet 
107 European Union, Environmental Liability Directive 2004/35/CE 

Malta  25 

of implementation of the ELD based on the Commission's 
recently  published  implementation  report  and  REFIT 
evaluation108  
Since  2007109,  Malta  has  made  progress  on  compliance 
assurance.  There  has  been  an  emphasis  on  compliance 
promotion,  with  steps  taken  to  introduce  a  risk-based 
approach  to  inspection  work110  and  some  guidance  for 
individual inspection activities put in place.111 However, a 
recent  decrease  in  staff  numbers  combined  with  low 
availability  of 
technical  equipment  could  hamper 
effectiveness112 113.  

Despite  limited  resources,  Malta  is  active  within  IMPEL 
and it hosted an IMPEL peer review in 2014.  

Up-to-date  information  is  lacking  in  relation  to  the 
following: 

 

  data-collection  arrangements  to  track  the  use  and 
effectiveness  of  different  compliance  assurance 
interventions114; 
the extent to which risk-based methods are used to 
direct  compliance  assurance  at  the  strategic  level 
and in relation to specific problem-areas highlighted 
elsewhere  in  this Country  Report,  i.e.  unsatisfactory 
waste management, the threats to protected habitat 
types and species, in particular wild birds, air quality 
breaches  and 
the  pressures  on  groundwater 
resources.  

case  handled  under 

For the period 2007 – 2013, Malta reported one pending 
the 
and  one  dismissed 
Environmental  Liability  Directive.  Due  to  the  country's 
small  size,  resources  for  the  Directive's  implementation 
are  scarce.  The  availability  of  insurance  to  provide 
financial  security  (where  an  operator  cannot  meet  the 
costs of remediation) is also insufficient. The focus of the 
Directive on prevention is viewed as particularly valuable 
by Malta.  

108 COM(2016)204 final and COM(2016)121 final of 14.4.2016. This 

highlighted the need for better evidence on how the directive is used 
in practice; for tools to support its implementation, such as guidance, 
training and ELD registers; and for financial security to be available in 
case events or incidents generate remediation costs 
109 In the Commission Report on the implementation of 

Recommendation 2001/331/EC providing for minimum criteria for 
environmental inspections Malta was identified as less successful in 
applying the criteria set (See Commission Staff Working Document 
SEC(2007)1493, p. 6, 15 and 20).  

110 A system for risk-assessment to determine inspection frequency was 
introduced first in 2010 and was further developed in 2013 (see 
IMPEL IRI Malta 2014, p. 25).  
111 IMPEL IRI Malta 2014, p. 34.  
112 According to the IMPEL IRI Malta 2014 (p. 43), there was a loss of 
50% since 2012; low availability of IT devices and vehicles for 
inspectors was also identified (p. 44). 

113 The newly set up Environment Authority is in the process of capacity 

building in this area in order to strengthening the compliance 
monitoring set-up in the near future. 

114 Only a limited performance monitoring is being undertaken using 

only few basic indicators, IMPEL IRI Malta 2014. 

Environmental Implementation Report – Malta 

 
 
 
                                                            
                                                            
Suggested action 

litigants to take court action in environmental matters117.  

Malta  26 

  Improve 

  Step  up  efforts 

transparency  on 

the  organisation  and 
functioning  of  compliance  assurance  and  on  how 
significant risks are addressed, as outlined above.  
in  the 

implementation  of  the 
Environmental  Liability  Directive  (ELD)  with  proactive 
initiatives, in particular by setting up a national register 
of ELD incidents and drafting national guidance, as well 
as ensuring an effective system of financial security for 
environmental  liabilities  (so  that  operators  not  only 
have  insurance  cover  available  to  them  but  actually 
take it up).  

Public participation and access to justice 

The  Aarhus  Convention,  related  EU  legislation  on  public 
participation and environmental impact assessment, and 
the case-law of the Court of Justice require that citizens 
and  their  associations  should  be  able  to  participate  in 
decision-making  on  projects  and  plans  and  should  enjoy 
effective environmental access to justice. 

Citizens  can  more  effectively  protect  the  environment  if 
they can rely on the three "pillars" of the Convention on 
Access  to  Information,  Public  Participation  in  Decision-
making  and  Access  to  Justice  in  Environmental  Matters 
("the  Aarhus  Convention").  Public  participation  in  the 
administrative  decision  making  process  is  an  important 
element to ensure that the authority takes its decision on 
the  best  possible  basis.  The  Commission  intends  to 
examine compliance with mandatory public participation 
requirements more systematically at a later stage.115 

Access  to  justice  in  environmental  matters  is  a  set  of 
guarantees  that  allows  citizens  and  their  associations  to 
challenge  acts  or  omissions  of  the  public  administration 
before  a  court. 
for  decentralised 
It 
implementation of EU environmental law. 

is  a 

tool 

For  each  Member  State,  two  crucial  elements  for 
effective  access  to  justice  have  been  systematically 
reviewed:  the  legal  standing  for  the  public,  including 
NGOs and the extent to which prohibitive costs represent 
a barrier. 

In  general,  Malta  provides  legal  standing  for  the  public, 
notably  environmental  NGO  and 
in 
environmental  cases116.  Access  to  justice  for  nature 
protection  matters, 
such  as  challenging  hunting 
derogations,  has  not  yet  been  tested  in  practice.  The 
costs  for  court  procedures  can  also  prevent  potential 

individuals 

115 Malta’s latest report on the Aarhus Convention is here: 

http://apps.unece.org/ehlm/pp/NIR/listnr.asp?YearID=2014&wf_Cou
ntries=MT&wf_Q=QA&Quer_ID=&LngIDg=EN&YearIDg=2017  

116 Malta meanwhile has an established structure in place, including the 

Suggested action 

  Take the  necessary  measures  to  ensure  that  the  costs 
of legal challenges involving EU environmental law are 
not  prohibitively  expensive,  and 
line  with  the 
requirements  of  EU 
law  as  well  as  the  Aarhus 
Convention. 

in 

Access to Information, knowledge and 
evidence 

The  Aarhus  Convention  and  related  EU  legislation  on 
access  to  information  and  the  sharing  of  spatial  data 
require that the public has access to clear information on 
the environment, including on how Union environmental 
law is being implemented. 

authorities 

public 
the  public, 

and 
increasingly 

It is of crucial importance to public authorities, the public 
and business that environmental information is shared in 
an  efficient  and  effective  way.  This  covers  reporting  by 
and 
active 
businesses 
dissemination 
through 
to 
electronic means. 
The  Aarhus  Convention118,  the  Access  to  Environmental 
Information  Directive119  and  the  INSPIRE  Directive120 
together  create  a  legal  foundation  for  the  sharing  of 
environmental  information  between  public  authorities 
and with the public. They also represent the green part of 
the  ongoing  EU  e-Government  Action  Plan121.  The  first 
two 
to  provide 
information  to  the  public,  both  on  request  and  actively. 
The  INSPIRE  Directive  is  a  pioneering  instrument  for 
electronic  data-sharing  between  public  authorities  who 
can  vary  in  their  data-sharing  policies,  e.g.  on  whether 
access to data is for free. The INSPIRE Directive sets up a 
geoportal which indicates the level of shared spatial data 
in  each  Member  State  –  i.e.  data  related  to  specific 
locations,  such  as  air  quality  monitoring  data.  Amongst 
other  benefits 
it  facilitates  the  public  authorities' 
reporting obligations.  

create  obligations 

instruments 

For  each  Member 
accessibility  of 
State, 
environmental data (based on what the INSPIRE Directive 
envisages)  as  well  as  data-sharing  policies  ('open  data') 
have been systematically reviewed.  

the 

Malta's  performance  on  the  implementation  of  the 
INSPIRE  Directive  as  enabling  framework  to  actively 

117 European Commission, 2012/2013 access to justice in environmental 

matters in the EU Member States. 

118 European Commission, The Aarhus Convention  
119 European Union, Directive 2003/4/EC on public access to 

environmental information 

120 European Commission, 2016. INSPIRE Directive 
121 European Union, EU eGovernment Action Plan 2016-2020 - 

environment and planning appeals tribunal:  
http://era.org.mt/en/Pages/Access-to-Justice.aspx  

Accelerating the digital transformation of government COM(2016) 
179 final 

Environmental Implementation Report – Malta 

 
 
                                                            
                                                            
Malta  27 

disseminate  environmental  information  to  the  public  is 
lagging  behind.122  Malta  has  indicated  in  the  3-yearly 
INSPIRE  implementation  report123  that  the  necessary 
data-sharing  policies  allowing  access  and  use  of  spatial 
data  by  national  administrations,  other  Member  States' 
administrations  and  EU  institutions  without  procedural 
obstacles  are  available  and  implemented.  In  general 
spatial  data  is  made  available  to  public  administrations 
and  the  public  at  no  cost.  However  there  are  some 
exceptions where a fee is charged, such as for the Malta 
base  map.  Malta  has  no  common  license  model;  data–
sharing  is  promoted  and  coordinated  through  national 
data-sharing guidelines.   
Assessments  of  monitoring  reports124  issued  by  Malta 
and the spatial information that Malta has published on 
the  INSPIRE  geoportal125  indicate  that  not  all  spatial 
and 
for 
information 
implementation of EU environmental law has been made 
available  or  is  accessible.  The  larger  part  of  this  missing 
spatial  information  consists  of  the  environmental  data 
required  to  be  made  available  under  the  existing 
reporting 
EU 
environmental law. 

and  monitoring 

regulations 

evaluation 

needed 

the 

of 

Suggested action 

  Critically  review  the  effectiveness  of  Malta's  data 
policies  and  amend  them,  taking  good  practices  into 
consideration.  

  Identify and document all spatial data sets required for 
the  implementation  of  environmental  law,  and  make 
the  data  and  documentation  at  least  accessible  'as  is' 
to  other  public  authorities  and  the  public  through  the 
digital services foreseen in the INSPIRE Directive. 

122 Malta has informed that the Environment Resource Authority 

website meanwhile provides information on the following aspects: 
(1) a prominent link to public consultations - see PUBLIC 
CONSULTATION tab on 
http://era.org.mt/en/Themes/Pages/Welcome.aspx ; (2) a widget for 
Ground level Ozone levels on the main page; (3) a link to air quality 
monitoring levels of airborne pollutants; (4) a dedicated page for 
each environmental theme  with tabs on information, news, 
publications, data and maps, environmental permits (applications). 
123 European Commission, 2016. Inspire – Monitoring and Reporting  
124 Inspire indicator trends  
125 Inspire Resources Summary Report  

Environmental Implementation Report – Malta