kom (2017) 0063 - Ingen titel

Europaudvalget 2017
KOM (2017) 0063
Offentligt

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}

kom (2017) 0063 - Ingen titel

Malta

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:

[email protected]

More information on the European Union is available on the internet (http://europa.eu).

Photographs: p.10 ©Krasnevsky/iStock; p.12 ©Joan Vicent Canto Roig/iStock; p.14 © LIFE11

NAT/MT/001070; p.18 ©Tony Zelenoff/iStock; p. 23 © helovi/iStock

For reproduction or use of these photos, permission must be sought directly from the copyright holder.

©European Union, 2017

Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.

kom (2017) 0063 - Ingen titel

Malta

Table of Content

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

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

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

Noise ................................................................................................................................................. 16

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

kom (2017) 0063 - Ingen titel

Malta

Executive summary

About the Environmental Implementation Review

In May 2016, the Commission launched the

Environmental Implementation Review (EIR), a two-year

cycle of analysis, dialogue and collaboration to improve

the implementation of existing EU environmental policy

and legislation

. As a first step, the Commission drafted

28 reports describing 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 Programme

and refer to the 2030

Agenda for Sustainable development and related

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

to the extent to

which they reflect the existing obligations and policy

objectives of EU environmental law

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

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.

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.



Investing in making the tourism sector more

sustainable which is a double win: less

environmental pressure and a more attractive tourist

destination.

Points of Excellence

Where Malta is a leader on environmental

implementation, innovative approaches could be shared

more widely with other countries. Concrete examples

are:



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.

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

Communication "Delivering the benefits of EU environmental policies

through a regular Environmental Implementation Review"

(COM/2016/

316 final).

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".

United Nations, 2015.

The Sustainable Development Goals

This EIR report does not cover climate change, chemicals and energy.

Environmental Implementation Report – Malta

kom (2017) 0063 - Ingen titel

Malta

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

the need to build resilient infrastructure, promote

inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster

innovation. SDG 12 encourages countries to achieve the

sustainable management and efficient use of natural

resources by 2030.

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.

Malta has announced to seek to contribute towards the

circular economy and sustainability agendas

. 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 important source of funding in the

environmental field, primarily through the Structural

Funds.

In terms of resource productivity

(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 2003-15

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 alike

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 fuels

. The country’s water

resources are under severe stress, among others because

of the semi-arid climate leading to chronic lack of natural

water resources. Drinkable water supply is heavily

dependent on desalination (which was significantly

reduced over the last years but still consumes 3% of the

country’s total electricity generation). Furthermore,

despite significant investments made in waste

management

infrastructure,

Malta’s

specific

characteristics continue to constrain the country’s ability

to manage waste effectively

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

European Commission, 2015.

Proposed Circular Economy Package

Lauri, S., Caan, T.F., Azzopardi, J.P. and Bezzina, A., 2015.

Energy

Efficiency Trends and Policies in Malta,

ODYSSEE-MURE

Idem

Ministry for Finance, 2016.

National Reform Programme Malta 2016

Resource productivity is defined as the ratio between gross domestic

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

Eurostat,

Resource productivity,

accessed October 2016

Environmental Implementation Report – Malta

kom (2017) 0063 - Ingen titel

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

Development Strategy by the end of 2016,

mainstreaming sustainability in different training

programmes.

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 drought

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.

Investing in innovative, cost-saving measures to reduce

resource and energy use in Malta could result 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 SMEs

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

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 %.

MARSOL

RPA, 2015.

Assessing the Potential Cost Savings and Resource Savings

of Investments in 4 SME sectors,

study for European Commission

Environmental Implementation Report – Malta

kom (2017) 0063 - Ingen titel

Malta

employees per SME (EU28 average 1.7%).

Malta’s services exports and the industry represents 30%

of GDP. The Maltese tourism policy 2012-2016 puts

sustainable tourism at the heart of 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).

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.

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)

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:



Full implementation of Union waste legislation,

which includes the waste hierarchy; the need to

ensure separate collection of waste; the landfill

diversion targets etc.



Reducing per capita waste generation and waste

generation in absolute terms.



Limiting energy recovery to non-recyclable materials

and phasing out landfilling of recyclable or

recoverable waste.

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 includes landfilling and incineration

without energy recovery).

The progress towards reaching recycling targets and the

adoption of adequate WMP/WPP

should be the key

items to measure the performance of Member States.

This section focuses on management of municipal waste

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

Eco-innovation Observatory:

Eco-Innovation scoreboard 2015

Waste Management Plans/Waste Prevention Programmes

Environmental Implementation Report – Malta

kom (2017) 0063 - Ingen titel

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. Municipal

waste

generation in 2014 is high compared to the EU average

(600 kg/y/inhabitant, compared to 475 kg/y/inhabitant

on average).

Figure 3: Municipal waste by treatment in Malta 2007-

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 2007-14

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 years

Data from 2014

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 targets, it will need to build the required

infrastructure. Revenues from a gradually increasing

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.

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

role

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

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.

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

some 1.6 million tourists visit Malta every year.

Eurostat,

Municipal waste and treatment, by type of treatment

method,

accessed October 2016

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.

Eurostat,

Municipal waste and treatment, by type of treatment

method,

accessed October 2016

Eurostat,

Recycling rate of municipal waste,

accessed October 2016

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.

European Commission, 2013.

Support to Implementation

–

Municipal

Waste.

Country fiche

Malta

Environmental Implementation Report – Malta

kom (2017) 0063 - Ingen titel

Malta

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,

including inspection and enforcement to ensure

subscribing to collection services.

Environmental Implementation Report – Malta

kom (2017) 0063 - Ingen titel

Malta

2. Protecting, conserving and enhancing natural capital

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 network

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

has not designated any SAC and it has defined

management plans only for 7 SCIs

; 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

Directive

, 43% of the habitats' biogeographic

assessments were favourable in 2013 (EU 27: 16 %). On

the other hand, 50 % are considered to be unfavourable–

inadequate

(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%

at unfavourable-inadequate (EU27: 42%) and 8%

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 designation

both in land

and at sea, should be the key items to measure the

performance of Member States.

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.

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.

Malta has sent new data suggesting an improved situation, but they

could not yet be included in this figure for consistency reasons.

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.

According to the Maltese authorities, work is ongoing and the

designation process should be finalised in 2016.

The core of the ‘Article 17’ report is the assessment of conservation

status of the habitats and species targeted by the Habitats Directive.

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.

Environmental Implementation Report – Malta

kom (2017) 0063 - Ingen titel

Malta

unfavourable-bad status (EU27: 18%). This is depicted in

Figure 6

. 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 (%)

Figure 6: Conservation status of habitats and species in

Malta in 2007/2013 (%)

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.

The main pressures and threats for habitats identified in

the 2013 report were human 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 in several infringement

procedures.

Figure 7: Short-term population trend of breeding and

wintering bird species in Malta in 2012 (%)

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.

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

Article 12 of the Birds Directive reporting -

national summary of Malta

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.

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.

For example the decisions to open spring hunting seasons or trapping

Environmental Implementation Report – Malta

kom (2017) 0063 - Ingen titel

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.

Green Infrastructure

The EU strategy on green infrastructure

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.

Malta’s National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan

2012-2020 explicitly address Green Infrastructure and

connectivity. Green infrastructure and references to

“greening open spaces”; “developing 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.

Currently, Malta’s Green infrastructure is seen as a

holistic framework for improving 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.

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.

Estimating Natural Capital

The EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 calls on the Member

States to map and asses the state of ecosystems and

their services

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

MAES

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

ecosystems and their services, valuation and

development of natural capital accounting systems.

Ecosystem services are benefits provided by nature such as food,

clean water and pollination on which human society depends.

Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services (MAES).

European Union, Green Infrastructure — Enhancing Europe’s Natural

Capital,

COM/2013/0249

National Environment Policy,

February 2012.

Environmental Implementation Report – Malta

kom (2017) 0063 - Ingen titel

Malta

Soil protection

The EU Soil Thematic Strategy highlights the need to

ensure a sustainable use of soils. This requires the

prevention of further soil degradation and the

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 fragile resource and 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.

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 year

. The percentage of

built up land in 2009 was 15.23%, well above the EU

average (3.23%)

. The soil water erosion rate in 2010

was 5.39 tonnes per ha per year, well above EU-28

average (2.46 tonnes)

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.

Figure 8: Land Cover types in Malta in 2012

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

use the oceans, seas and marine resources for

sustainable development.

The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD)

aims

to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES)

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

European Environment Agency

Draft results of CORINE Land Cover

(CLC) inventory 2012;

mean annual land take 2006-12 as a % of 2006

artificial land.

European Environment Agency, 2016.

Imperviousness and

imperviousness change, Figure 1

Eurostat,

Soil water erosion rate,

Figure 2, accessed November 2016

European Environment Agency, Land cover 2012 and changes country

analysis [publication forthcoming]

European Union,

Marine Strategy Framework Directive 2008/56/EC

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

kom (2017) 0063 - Ingen titel

Malta

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.

latest Commission's assessment

In 2012, Maltese marine protected areas covered 193.3

of its marine waters in the Ionian and Central

Mediterranean Sea

. 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 MSFD

, 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 approaches assessing (and

quantifying) impacts from the main pressures in order

to lead to improved and more conclusive assessment

results for 2018 reporting.



Urgently report and implement its programme of

measures



Ensure that its monitoring programme is implemented

without delay, and is appropriate to monitor progress

towards the GES.

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 the Mediterranean (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

coastal areas, and reliance on climate-sensitive

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.

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

measurable

. 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

waters in 2014. However, because this monitoring

programme was reported late to the Commission,

Malta's monitoring programme was not evaluated in the

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)

. 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)

2012 Data provided by the European Environmental Agency – Not

published

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)

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

measures to the Commission.

Environmental Implementation Report – Malta

kom (2017) 0063 - Ingen titel

Malta

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

quality legislation

, which establishes health-based

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 ceilings

. 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

concentrations and 20 to ozone

concentrations

. This is due also to exceedances above

the EU air quality standards such as shown in Figure 9

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

As part of this, Member States are also required to

ensure that up-to-date information on ambient

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 Malta

. Reductions between 1990 and

2014 for sulphur oxides (-68%), nitrogen oxides

(-1%) as

long-term objectives regarding ozone

concentration

European Commission, 2016.

Air Quality Standards

See

EIONET Central Data Repository

and

Air pollutant emissions data

viewer (NEC Directive)

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).

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.

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.

European Environment Agency, 2016.

Air Quality in Europe – 2016

Report

(Table 10.2, please see details in this report as regards the

underpinning methodology)

Based on European Environment Agency, 2016.

Air Quality in Europe

– 2016 Report.

(Figures 4.1, 5.1 and 6.1)

Low level ozone is produced by photochemical action on pollution

and it is also a greenhouse gas.

Environmental Implementation Report – Malta

kom (2017) 0063 - Ingen titel

Malta

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 changes

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

EUR 5 million/year (income adjusted, 2010), for

healthcare of above EUR 0.6 million/year (income

adjusted, 2010), and for agriculture (crop losses) of EUR 2

million/year (2010)

. These costs could be significantly

reduced by stepping up pollution control or prevention

measures.

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

The EU water policy and legislation require that the

impact of pressures on transitional, coastal and fresh

waters (including surface and ground 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

acquis

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.

River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs) are a

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 status

. Only 13% of groundwater bodies

achieve good chemical status

and 73% of groundwater

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

issues

. To alleviate this, the EU

acquis

sets out several

requirements, including assessing the exposure to

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 agglomeration

, the noise

mapping for the most recent reporting round, for the

See

The EEA/Eionet Air Quality Portal

and the related Central Data

Repository

This includes the opportunity costs of time and fuel wasted in

congested traffic, accidents, air pollution climate change and noise.

Source: tbc

These figures are based on the

Impact Assessment

for the European

Commission Integrated Clean Air Package (2013)

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

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.

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)

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.

Good chemical status is defined in the Water Framework Directive

referring to compliance with all the quality standards established for

Environmental Implementation Report – Malta

kom (2017) 0063 - Ingen titel

Malta

bodies are in good quantitative status

. The main

pressure on Malta's surface water is diffuse pollution

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.

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 Directive

. 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 2014

. All

bathing waters had at least

sufficient quality

in 2015.

Since 2012, 100% of the waste water load in Malta was

connected to a collecting system. However, the load

collected is not treated 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.

For groundwater, a precautionary approach has been taken that

comprises a prohibition on direct discharges to groundwater, and a

requirement to monitor groundwater bodies.

Diffuse pollution comes from widespread activities with no discrete

source.

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.

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

European Environment Agency, 2016.

European bathing water quality

in 2015,

p. 30

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.

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

In addition, groundwater bodies are seriously

contaminated by nitrates from the downward movement

of fertilizers and animal waste into the aquifer.

Figure 10: Bathing water quality 2012 – 2015

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.

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.

European Environment Agency,

State of bathing water country

reports -Malta,

2016

Environmental Implementation Report – Malta

kom (2017) 0063 - Ingen titel

Malta

Floods in Malta are of the flash flood type

and 13 floods

occurred between 2002-2013, of which one (2003) with

an estimated damage of EUR 30 million

. 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.

including air quality and housing

The European Commission will launch a new EU

benchmark system in 2017

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.

Suggested action



Improve monitoring and status assessment under the

Water Framework Directive

. Better justify the

exemptions to 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 gaps, in particular linked to

agricultural pollution by nutrients and over-abstraction

of groundwater. Measures should be properly

financed.



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 transport and mobility, sustainable

buildings, energy efficiency and urban biodiversity

conservation.

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.

The urban

environment poses particular challenges for the

environment and human health, whilst also providing

opportunities and efficiency gains in the use of resources.

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).

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, improve and contribute towards the

ecological aspects of Malta's capital city and that of other

towns in Malta and Gozo. Another notable initiative was

the international Sustainable Built Environment

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.

Flash flood type following intense rainfall events are a result of

uncontrolled surface water runoff in urbanised dry valley channels.

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

The full set of recommendations in relation to the WFD are

here.

European Environment Agency,

Urban environment

http://urbanagendaforthe.eu/

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

kom (2017) 0063 - Ingen titel

Malta

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

the Union’s credibility in related negotiations and

international

meetings

where

supporting

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 Convention

and the Protocol on

Integrated Coastal Zone Management.

It has neither signed nor ratified three agreements under

the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air

Pollution: the Gothenburg Protocol 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 Protocol

, 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.

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.

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

kom (2017) 0063 - Ingen titel

Malta

Part II: Enabling Framework: Implementation Tools

4. Market based instruments and investment

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 study

suggests that there is considerable potential for shifting

taxes from labour to environmental taxes in Malta. Under

a good practice scenario

, these taxes could generate an

additional EUR 0.05 billion in 2018, rising to EUR 0.11

billion in 2030 (both in real 2015 terms). This 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.

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

the future in terms of clean up, health costs, etc. Green

taxes generate sizeable revenues, are simple in

implementation, and have a useful additional function in

the total policy package.

Figure 11: Environmental tax revenues as a share of

total revenues from taxes and social contributions

(excluding imputed social contributions) in 2014

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.

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

Eurostat,

Environmental tax revenues,

accessed October 2016

Environmental Implementation Report – Malta

kom (2017) 0063 - Ingen titel

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.

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.

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.

The purchasing power of public procurement in the EU

equals to approximately 14% of GDP

. A substantial part

of this money 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 foster sustainable innovative

businesses. The Commission has proposed EU GPP

criteria

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 is in place whereby all

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.

During 2015, the Green Public Procurement Office within

the Ministry for Sustainable Development, the

Environment and Climate Change (MSDEC) continued its

mainstreaming mainly through substantive training

sessions across all Government sectors. According to

Malta

, 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 %.

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 for economic, social and territorial

cohesion, rural development and maritime policy, and

reinforce the capacity of implementing bodies to deliver

cost-effective and sustainable investments in these areas.

Making good use of the European Structural and

Investment Funds (ESIF)

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 EFSI

may also support

implementation and spread of best practice.

In 2007-2013, EU funding (European Regional

Development Fund and Cohesion Fund) to 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

which contributed to the improvement of the

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.

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.

The PA implies investing EUR 729 million 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

European Commission, 2015.

Public procurement

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.

European Commission, 2015.

Documentation on National GPP Action

Plans

National Reform Programme 2016 of Malta,

p. 51-52.

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.

European Investment Bank, 2016

European Fund for Strategic

Investments

Operational Programme

Fostering a competitive and sustainable

economy to meet our challenges

p. 326

Environmental Implementation Report – Malta

kom (2017) 0063 - Ingen titel

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 billion

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.

Malta did not programme specific measures on

compensation for limitations emanating from

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.

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

environmental

land

management

and

other

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 2015-2020

is allocated to

greening practices beneficial for the environment. An

environmentally ambitious implementation of 1st pillar

greening would clearly help to improve the

environmental situation in areas not covered by rural

development, including intensive area, and if appropriate

Malta could review its implementation of this.

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.

The expected results from ERDF and CF investments in

the environmental sector include 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.

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.

European Commission,

European Structural and Investment Funds

Data By Country

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

kom (2017) 0063 - Ingen titel

Malta

5. Effective governance and knowledge

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, technology and innovation, establishing

partnerships and developing measurements of progress.

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 skills

. Successful implementation

depends, to a large extent, on central, regional and local

government fulfilling key legislative and administrative

tasks, notably adoption of sound 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 intervene 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.

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 implemented when it takes 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.

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.

It is crucial that central, regional and local

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

services

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.

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 resources base in science and

technologies and the lack of a critical mass in specific

research areas hinders the capacity to innovate

(European Commission, 2016

). Stronger linkages

between the academic and the private sector for

effective knowledge transfer are needed, as well as

further investment in R&D.

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.

Capacity to implement rules

The Commission has work ongoing to improve the country-specific

knowledge about quality and functioning of the administrative

systems of Member States.

World Bank,

Worldwide Governance Indicators 2015

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

kom (2017) 0063 - Ingen titel

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) 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 period

Moreover, there is a systemic problem of lack of timely

reporting under EU environmental legislation. This might

be related to shortage of staff resources.

Arrangements for the effective application of Union

environmental legislation related to Environmental

Impact Assessment and Strategic Environmental

Assessment are in place, as well as arrangements for

training and dissemination of information for staff

involved. The proper implementation of 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 EU

The transposition of the revised Directive on

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

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 2016

100

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.

Environment, and Climate Change (MSDEC) is the public

authority in charge of coordinating and streamlining

environmental policy developments in Malta.

In 2014, the MSDEC underwent organisational

improvements in setting up a Strategic Office dedicated

to mainstreaming of sustainable development

approaches and environmental matters in the

operational work of the ministry. Within this division the

policy streams of Sustainable Development, Environment

and Climate Change are being developed in conjunction

with the Policy Development and Programme

Implementation Directorate. Together these structures

are targeting to secure a more integrated approach for

policy development and implementation

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 level, as well as 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 process

101

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 in place to secure compliance with EU

environmental rules.

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

Suggested action



Improve the timely reporting under the EU

environmental legislation and ensure sufficient staff

capacity for this purpose in particular and more

generally for a more effective implementation and

enforcement of the environmental policy.

Coordination and integration

The

Ministry

for

Sustainable

Development,

the

Partnership Agreement of Malta 2014-2020,

p. 170.

Partnership Agreement of Malta 2014-2020,

p. 243.

Eurostat,

Land cover statistics,

accessed June 2016

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

irective 2011/92/EU of the European

Parliament and of the Council, as amended by Directive

2014/52/EU).

Government of Malta,

Environment & Resources Authority

Environmental Implementation Report – Malta

kom (2017) 0063 - Ingen titel

Malta

online information tools. Follow-up to breaches and

liabilities can include administrative action (e.g.

withdrawal of a permit), use of criminal law

102

and action

under liability law (e.g. required remediation after

damage from an accident using liability rules) and

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

IMPEL

103

, EUFJE

104

, ENPE

105

and EnviCrimeNet

106

is a valuable tool for sharing experience and good

practices.

Figure 13: Environmental compliance assurance

of implementation of the ELD based on the Commission's

recently published implementation report and REFIT

evaluation

108

Since 2007

109

, 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 work

110

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

effectiveness

112 113

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

interventions

114

;



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.

For the period 2007 – 2013, Malta reported one pending

and one dismissed case handled under the

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.

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 is also publically available information giving

insights into existing strengths and weaknesses in each

Member State.

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

102

103

108

European Union,

Environmental Crime Directive 2008/99/EC

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

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

kom (2017) 0063 - Ingen titel

Malta

Suggested action



Improve transparency on the organisation and

functioning of compliance assurance and on how

significant risks are addressed, as outlined above.



Step up efforts 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).

litigants to take court action in environmental matters

117

Suggested action



Take the necessary measures to ensure that the costs

of legal challenges involving EU environmental law are

not prohibitively expensive, and in line with the

requirements of EU law as well as the Aarhus

Convention.

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.

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

businesses and public authorities and active

dissemination to the public, increasingly through

electronic means.

The Aarhus Convention

118

, the Access to Environmental

Information Directive

119

and the INSPIRE Directive

120

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 Plan

121

. The first

two instruments create obligations 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.

For each Member State, the accessibility of

environmental data (based on what the INSPIRE Directive

envisages) as well as data-sharing policies ('open data')

have been systematically reviewed.

Malta's performance on the implementation of the

INSPIRE Directive as enabling framework to actively

117

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. It is a tool for decentralised

implementation of EU environmental law.

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 individuals in

environmental cases

116

. 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

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

environment and planning appeals tribunal:

http://era.org.mt/en/Pages/Access-to-Justice.aspx

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 -

Accelerating the digital transformation of government

COM(2016)

179

final

Environmental Implementation Report – Malta

kom (2017) 0063 - Ingen titel

Malta

disseminate environmental information to the public is

lagging behind.

122

Malta has indicated in the 3-yearly

INSPIRE implementation report

123

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 reports

124

issued by Malta

and the spatial information that Malta has published on

the INSPIRE geoportal

125

indicate that not all spatial

information needed for the evaluation and

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 and monitoring regulations of EU

environmental law.

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