The General Court of the European Union has rejected Edward Zammit Lewis’s nomination to serve as a judge. Justice Minister Jonathan Attard confirmed that the panel responsible for interviewing the Maltese nominee issued a “negative outcome.” Zammit Lewis, who had been nominated to replace Judge Ramona Frendo as she transitions to the European Court of Justice, blamed the Nationalist Party for the result. The Opposition had criticised the nomination, calling it “an insult to all those who believe in justice.” They cited Zammit Lewis’s tenure as a minister in Joseph Muscat’s administration and his association with Yorgen Fenech, who stands accused of involvement in the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. (Maltatoday)
Government withdraws EU funds to electrify bus fleet
The government’s withdrawal of EU funds allocated for Malta’s bus operator has halted plans to electrify the country’s bus fleet, according to a spokesperson for Malta Public Transport. At a press conference on Wednesday, the Nationalist Party revealed that the government had discreetly abandoned its intention to secure over €40 million in EU funding for upgrading Malta’s bus fleet. Malta had been set to receive €34 million from the EU Recovery and Resilience Fund to replace 102 diesel buses with electric models, along with €7 million from the Connecting Europe Facility to develop EV charging infrastructure for the fleet. MPT has now confirmed these plans were “no longer feasible and cannot go ahead”. (Times of Malta)
Maltese students register progress in Maths and Science Maltese ninth-year students have demonstrated significant progress in Mathematics and Science, according to the 2023 results of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). In Mathematics, Maltese students achieved an average score of 499, well above the international average of 478 and comparable to countries such as Italy and Norway. Their performance in Science was even more impressive, with an average score of 501, placing them alongside nations like Italy and New Zealand. TIMSS, conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), is a large-scale international study assessing students’ knowledge and skills in Mathematics and Science. Organised every four years since 1995, it evaluates students in years five and nine to benchmark educational performance globally. (TVM)
