The project "Building capacity to introduce the Polluter Pays principle through economic instruments to implement the EU environmental Acquis" was funded by the EU Transition Facility programme for Malta (2004). This programme aims to strengthen the Maltese administration to enable it to fully comply with the requirements of the EU Acquis.

The project itself intended to build the necessary capacity in the Maltese Government to devise and implement a package of environmental economic instruments applying into practice the Polluter Pays principle. According to this principle the costs of environmental pollution and the damage it causes should be borne by the polluter. Effective use of environmental economic instruments has the potential to reinforce the practical implementation of the principle, which is one of the cornerstones of EU environmental policy.

The initiative was jointly implemented by MEPA and the Ministry of Finance and had a total budget of €200,000, provided in full by the EU.

The project commenced in November 2005 and was implemented through a service contract.  It resulted in: a report of assessment of the current situation; a three-year plan for the introduction of a package of environmental economic instruments; training workshops and a public education campaign. The project was concluded in June 2007. Further Information can be found by clicking here.

The project’s rationale, activities and deliverables were also presented during a seminar entitled ‘The Polluter Pays Principle in Malta and the EU’ which was held on the 17th of March 2006. The seminar was organised by MEPA in collaboration with Green Budget Germany and the invitees included policy makers, civil servants, consultants and planners.

Within MEPA, this project was coordinated by the EU and Multilateral Affairs Unit.