How has the enlargement of the European Union in 2004 influenced citizens in small rural communities in Europe? Nadur Gozo Malta

Education European Educational Exchanges – Youth for Understanding

Students’ visit to Germany A group of 11 children from the Nadur Primary School had the opportunity to visit a school in Weisbaden Germany. Besides seeing the beautiful town they also took lessons with kids their own age and this has started a great friendship between kids from Nadur and Wiebaden..

Students’ visit to Sweden Sweden; 11 year 5 students had the opportunity to visit Sweden in January.. It was a great experience for them to see the snow, sled down the hill and build a snowman. In Malta we never experience such low temperatures and we never had snow. They were all amazed how beautiful the countryside can be covered in snow.

Teachers' meeting in Naples Two teachers from Nadur primary school met other teachers in the same Comenius project and for three days they discussed ways of teaching and exchanged ideas for Comenius project. These included teachers from Italy, England, Malta , Sweden etc.

Environment Environmental policy of the European Union

We stopped using leaded petrol By the end of 2010 we stopped using Lead Replacement Petrol New EU fuel quality directives, came into force on January 1, it affect the composition of LRP fuel by reducing the metallic content to a third of that found in LRP. This reduction in metallic manganese additives will affect the performance of LRP by reducing octane numbers and by reducing exhaust valve seat protection.

Sewage treatment plants The Water Services Corporation in Malta has three new sewage treatment plants – at Iċ-Ċumnija in Mellieħa, Ta’ Barkat in Xgħajra on the outskirts of Żabbar, and Ras il-Ħobz in Gozo. They make Malta the first country in the Mediterranean and the seventh in the EU to treat all its sewage. These three plants purify waste water before allowing it to be let flow to the sea, which is one big reason why the sea around Malta, these past few years has become very clean and no one seems to remember those ear infections which used to plague the end of summer days.

Protecting our air quality In 2004, a diffusion tube network covering 44 localities, and monitoring nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, ozone, benzene, toluene, mp-xylene, ethyl benzene, and o-xylene was in place. In 2006, three real-time fixed stations were operational at Kordin, Żejtun and Msida. In 2007, another real‑time station was commissioned in a rural background location in Gozo.

Protecting our bathing water Malta has scored highly in the latest EU bathing waters quality report. The European Commission and all bathing sites in Malta were of excellent quality and Malta tops its list of bathing water quality.

Bring-In Sites Introduced to Malta by WasteServ in 2002 Around 400 Bring-In sites were purchased thanks to European Structural Funding. Consist of four containers: - blue for plastic - white for paper - brown for glass - black for metal Recyclable materials collected separately and taken to the Material Recovery Facility (MRF) at the Sant' Antnin Waste Treatment Plant and then sold on a monthly basis to the highest bidder, to be exported for further treatment mainly in European & Asian countries.. Local Councils must now enrol with a private scheme to continue giving the service to their residents.

Civic Amenity sites  The public can bring and discard various types of bulky household waste, domestic hazardous waste as well as recyclable materials The waste collected at these sites is either exported overseas for treatment, treated locally, re-used for other purposes or recycled. There are 6 operational Civic Amenity Sites which are situated at  Mriehel, Hal Far, Luqa, Maghtab, Tal-Kus, Xewkija Gozo & Ta' Qali

Gozo Waste Transfer and Materials Recovery Facility This project represents an investment value of roughly €10 million which was co-financed through EU funds (Cohesion Fund 2007-2013). This state-of-the-art facility has three main functions provide the necessary  pre-treatment for dry recyclables 12,000 tonnes of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is received every year, which will then be efficiently compacted in hermetically sealed containers and transferred to Malta for further treatment shredding of  bulky waste where possible and transfer of this material to Malta

Renewable Energy from the processes of landfilling and waste treatment, solar panels and wind turbines In 2007, to celebrate the beginning of electricity generation from solid waste, a large Christmas tree 15 meters high was installed on the top of the waste hill at the closed landfill of Maghtab and the 500 bulbs were energised from landfill gas. It was powered by an electrical generator modified to run on gas generated from waste in the Ta’ Zwejra Engineered Landfill. The estimated amount of energy expected to be generated from the landfill facilities at the Maghtab Environmental Complex is that equivalent to the electricity needs of 3,000 households, based on an average occupancy of 4 persons.

Rehabilitation and Restoration of Closed Landfills In the past no recycling took place, the waste going dumping sites was not sorted and as a result several dumpsites were created. Now undergoing rehabilitation. The closure and rehabilitation of a number of Maltese Landfills is the final stage. Magħtab, Marsascala landfills on Malta and Qortin landfill on Gozo. Landfilling should be used only as a last resort, but when it must be then the new 'Engineered landfill' processes are far better. The development of a long-term engineered landfill of Ta' Zwejra, Ghallis covers the development of the following facilities: • A controlled landfill for non-hazardous, non-inert waste; • Leachate and gas management systems; • Administration and Site Management Buildings;

Capital Projects

European Agriculture Funds for Rural Development (EAFRD)   Rural Development Programme for Malta 2007 – 2013 LEADER  Measure 125 – Infrastructure related to the development and adaptation of agriculture – resurfacing of part of Wied Binġemma Street

European Agriculture Funds for Rural Development (EAFRD) Rural Development Programme for Malta 2007 – 2013 Measure 313‐ Encouragement of Tourism Activities Embellishment and upgrading of the Starting Point for Nadur Nature Trails (Paving and Signs) in an environmentally friendly manner

Improvement of the TEN-T Road Infrastructure (PHASE I) The project aims at reconstructing and upgrading five sections of the Trans-European Network - Transport (TEN-T) road network in Malta. These five projects are of strategic importance and will improve the main road network links to the Air Passenger Terminal at Gudja, The Sea Passenger terminal and Ro-Ro Terminal at in the Grand Harbour, the tourist areas in the northern part of Malta, access to the internal seaports at Cirkewwa and the continuation of the main link road from Mgarr Ferry Terminal and Victoria, Gozo's capital city.

The Elderly

Article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU (legally binding on EU bodies and on Member States when implementing EU law) explicitly prohibits discrimination based on age. The EU has helped to put in place a range of policies and programmes that promote active ageing, particularly in terms of helping older people to work longer. The EU supports Member States in trying to find adequate and sustainable solutions for pensions, healthcare and long-term care – issues that are important for seniors and the elderly, particularly in the face of the deepest recession in decades. The EU is also considering, or has adopted, measures relating to the accessibility of publicly available services that can help elderly persons who are frail or suffer from age-related disabilities. EU-funded research also supports activities directly aimed at improving the wellbeing of older segments of the population.

Article 25 of the Charter also recognises the right of the elderly to lead a life of dignity and independence and to participate in social and cultural life. On 23 January 1993, the Institute of Gerontology, as was known then, founded the University of the Third Age in Malta. The U3A Malta is a mixture of French and English models. Thus, the U3A of Malta has succeeded in making the social virtue of education, as well as, the educational aspect through cultural and social activities. The U3E programs, are designed to be an intellectual challenge and promote awareness. The main centre of U3A is at the Catholic Institute in Floriana, it has 3 other branches, two in Malta and one in Gozo. Over the last 21 years, the number of participants amounted to 14,200 members.

Active Ageing In the EU, active ageing involves encouraging older people to remain active by working longer and retiring later, by engaging in volunteer work or caring for young or very old family members, and by leading healthy and autonomous lives. In Gozo this aspect is practised by having day care centres in which elderly people from the village meet at a particular place and have different activities such as outings to Malta, exercise sessions, bingo, masses and even lunch outings. The local council also provides activities to the elderly such as outings, gatherings were older people gather together and eat dinner in a restaurant and even group holidays abroad.

Heritage & Tourism

Inaugurated the historical building known as Dar il-Gvernatur at the entrance to Victoria When Triq l-Imgarr was reconstructed – a project co-financed by the EU – the house had to be dismantled because the road had to be widened. The dismantled stones were indexed and numbered and the house was re-build a few metres further in that it was before but basically on the same spot.

The Ġgantija Temples are a UNESCO World Heritage site In 2013 a new centre was opened the site, allowing visitors to further understand the history of these structures as well as the legends behind the temple. The name Ġgantija is, after all, derived from the Maltese word for ‘giant’, as early inhabitants on the island believed that giants built the massive stone structures. The Gozo Museum of Archaeology delves deeper into the island’s prehistoric heritage. Displaying unique artefacts discovered at several sites around Gozo, the museum gives visitors a taste of what life was like in Gozo across three main historical periods: prehistorical, classical and the medieval/modern.

The Cittadella is a small fortified city and citadel which lies in the heart of Victoria on the island of Gozo, Malta. The area has been inhabited since the Bronze Age, and in the Medieval era it was known as the Gran Castello. The Cittadella has been on Malta's tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1998. The Cittadella's fortifications, including part of the medieval enceinte, are intact. The southern part of the city, where the cathedral and other buildings are located, is also in good condition, but the northern part is largely in ruins. Many of these ruins date back to the medieval period, and they contain archaeological deposits. In 2006, the first plans were made to restore the Cittadella but in 2008 another major restoration program began and it came to the end with the inauguration on the 9th July 2016. Throughout the course of restoration, various architectural features and archaeological remains have been unearthed, including the city's original entrance

Dwejra – the Azure Window The Azure Window is a limestone natural arch on the Maltese island of Gozo. It is situated near Dwejra Bay on the Inland Sea. The formation was created after two limestone sea caves collapsed. It is a popular visitor destination being close to a tourist village that belongs to the town of San Lawrenz. The waters around the arch are suitable for swimming, scuba diving, and boating.

Higher education courses to address skills mismatches in Gozo (ESF 1 The Institute for Tourism Studies was inaugurated in May 2009, it offers modern facilities that allow hands-on training, both through individual units for the preparation of food, as well as other facilities such as the computer laboratory, restaurant and hotel training units. This project offers higher education part- time courses leading to a diploma or degree in finance, ICT and tourism studies in Gozo. The project targets the unemployed, underemployed as well as all those who wish to further their studies in these areas.

Agriculture

European Agriculture Funds for Rural Development (EAFRD) Rural Development Programme for Malta 2007 – 2013 LEADER  Measure 125 – Infrastructure related to the development and adaptation of agriculture – resurfacing of part of Wied Binġemma Street

European Agricultural Fund (EAGF) For more than 40 years, the common agricultural policy (CAP) has been the European Union's (EU) most important common policy. This explains why traditionally it has consumed a large part of the EU's budget, although the percentage has steadily declined over recent years to presently 40% (2008). The agricultural expenditure is financed by two funds, which form part of the EU's general budget: The European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) finances direct payments to farmers and measures to regulate agricultural markets such as intervention and export refunds The European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) finances the rural development programmes of the Member States. These two financial instruments have been established by Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005 and have since the 1st January 2007 replaced the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF)

European Agricultural Fund (EAGF) The European Agricultural Guarantee Fund finances: Refunds for exporting farm produce to non-EU countries; Intervention measures to regulate agricultural markets; Direct payments to farmers under the CAP; Certain informational and promotional measures for farm produce implemented by Member States both on the internal EU market and outside it; Expenditure on restructuring measures in the sugar industry under Council Regulation (EC) No 320/2006; Programmes promoting the consumption of fruit in schools.

"one of the best things about EU memberships are the new friends that we make"

The End