Launch of Interreg Italia-Malta Programme 2021-2027

EU funds for territorial cooperation between Malta and Sicily

On November 14, 2023, Servizzi Ewropej f’Malta (SEM) in collaboration with the Funds and Programmes Division (FPD) within the Ministry for the Economy, European Funds and Lands organised the launch of the Interreg VI-A Italia-Malta Programme 2021-2027 at Hilton, Saint Julians, Malta.

This event brought together past beneficiaries as well as potential future beneficiaries under the Interreg Italia-Malta programme with the aim of providing them with the necessary information about this new funding programme, particularly its key priorities for the coming years.

Inġ. Anthony Camilleri, Director General of FPD, opened the event by welcoming the attendees and encourage them to use this event as opportunity to establish contacts with future collaborators. The Parliamentary Secretary for European Funds, Hon. Chris Bonett noted how the Interreg Italia-Malta programme is an opportunity for both regions to harness collaboration for innovative and smart development for positive impact on the lives of citizens. Dr. Vincenzo Falgares, General Director of the Sicilian Region, thanked Malta for their continued commitment to collaborate which gives positive prospects for the next programming period 2021- 2027.

Following the introductions, a brief overview of the IT-MT Programme 2021-2027 objectives and priorities was provided by Ms Abigail Camilleri, Chief Coordinator of Funds and Programmes Division. In her presentation, Ms Camilleri emphasized on the importance of common strategies of the Mediterranean, coordination, and synergies. This was then followed by Mr Darren Grasso, Head of the Project Support Unit at SEM, who explained SEM’s services and how the Agency can assist potential future beneficiaries to apply under this funding programme. A representative from the Interreg Italia-Malta Managing Authority and Joint Secretariat, Regione Sicilia, then provided an in-depth explanation on the requirements of the upcoming calls under this programme that prospective applicants need to be aware of when submitting project proposals, such as the eligibility requirements and award criteria.

For the second part of the event, some of the successful projects which were executed in the last programming period were presented including Fast by Prof. David Mifsud, CORALLO, CORALLO +SI, BYTHOS, BYTHOS SI AND SENHAR by Prof. Alan Deidun, ITAMA by Dr Christopher Barbara and REMACO by Prof. Sebastiano D’Amico.

A panel discussion moderated by Keith Demicoli addressed experiences and perspectives related to the process of applying and implementing Interreg Italia-Malta funded projects. The panel members were: Mr Aaron Cutajar - Policy Officer at the Energy and Water Agency, Prof. Sebastiano D’Amico - Head of the Department of Geosciences at the University of Malta, Mr Enry Di Giacomo - Secretary General of Malta Italian Chamber, and Prof. Aldo Drago, Oceanography Coordinator at Malta College of Arts, Science & Technology and a member of the Mental Health Association Malta.

In his closing remarks, Inġ. Anthony Camilleri thanked all those who attended and encouraged them to reach out to SEM and FPD to help them bring their ideas to life.