Government provides Lm200,000 in financial assistance to constituted bodies for the year 2000

For the year 2000, Government has allocated the sum of LM200,000 to Constituted Bodies and Representative Organisations to

• assist them in keeping abreast of developments in the European Union; and
• enable them to better educate their members about EU matters related to their respective fields of competence.

The Fund is being administered by a Tripartite Committee, composed of a representative from the Office of the Prime Minister, one from the Ministry of Finance and one from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the latter as Chairman.

The Fund will assist Constituted Bodies and Representative Organisations in:

• maintaining, where necessary, a representative office in Brussels;
• setting up an EU desk within the Organisation in Malta for the provision of EU-related advice and information to its membership;
• organising courses, conferences, seminars and other fora of discussion in Malta directly related to the acquis communautaire on topics relevant to their membership;
• covering expenses related to participation in conferences, seminars and meetings abroad on matters directly related to the EU;
• covering expenses incurred in bringing over officials from the EU, or from institutions directly related therewith to discuss topics with an EU dimension of direct interest to their members;
• attending familiarisation visits and specialised immersion programmes of the EU institutions and other bodies;
• building up libraries on EU related subjects;
• reaching any other related objective approved by the Tripartite Committee.

OrganisationAllocation (Lm)

Malta Chamber of Commerce 25,000

Malta Federation of Industry 25,000

General Workers' Union 25,000

Unjoni Haddiema Maghqudin 25,000

GRTU 20,000

Funds will be disbursed on a project by project basis until the ceiling for that particular Constituted Body / Organisation has been reached.

Twenty per cent of the expenses for each project would have to be borne by the Constituted Body / Organisation concerned, subject to exceptional circumstances to be defined by the Tripartite Committee. Government will reimburse the remaining eighty per cent upon the submission of invoices or other appropriate documentation.

For each project, the Constituted Body / Representative Organisation will have to submit a detailed project proposal.

The Tripartite Committee will inform these organisations of the procedures to be followed.

For the year 2000, Other Constituted Bodies / Trade Unions, NGOs, Representative Organisations and Interest Groups have been allocated a global amount of Lm80,000. They are initially required to express their interest in benefiting from a share of these funds, in line with the objectives set out above, by writing to the Head of the Tripartite Committee, c/o EU Directorate, 2^nd Floor, Old University Building, St Paul's Street, Valletta CMR 02, by not later than Friday, 12 November 1999.

Such Constituted Bodies / Trade Unions, NGOs, Representative Organisations and Interest Groups which would have expressed their interest in writing will then be required to submit their project proposals to the Head of the Tripartite Committee by not later than Friday, 3 December 1999.

Twenty per cent of the expenses for each project would have to be borne by the Constituted Body / Organisation concerned, subject to exceptional circumstances to be defined by the Tripartite Committee. Government will reimburse the remaining eighty per cent upon the submission of invoices or other appropriate documentation.

Those Organisations that fail to express an interest in writing by Friday, 12 November 1999 will not be considered for fund allocation.