Malta’s Member of the European Parliament, Thomas Bajada, has called for stronger European Union support for island regions, with particular focus on the realities faced by Malta and Gozo. In a formal letter addressed to Raffaele Fitto and Costas Kadis, Bajada urged the European Commission to prioritise island-specific challenges in its upcoming strategy for islands and coastal communities.
This initiative follows a series of consultations with stakeholders earlier this year, where Bajada engaged with entities central to Malta and Gozo’s socio-economic development. He highlighted that for island communities, geographical challenges are not theoretical but “part of everyday life,” stressing that such structural disadvantages shape economic opportunities and long-term resilience.
Bajada also called for targeted funding mechanisms within the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework, proposing “preferential co-financing rates” and ring-fenced allocations for islands. He emphasised the need for improved connectivity and warned about the disproportionate burden placed on islands through current policies, including the Emission Trading System.
Concluding, Bajada stated that “if Europe truly wants to be fair and uniform, it must recognise that islands have different realities.”
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