Malta:

Technology – A Solution To Malta’s Woes? (Part 2)

04 November 2021

Ganado Advocates

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This is the second article in a two-part series. Read part one.

Investment in and the promotion of technology should not stop at
an administrative level. On the other hand, the creation of a
nation-wide infrastructure and eco-system that is attractive to
technology developers, in particular those in innovative
technology, should truly be at the forefront of Malta’s
targets. This is where Malta must seriously invest its resources
and efforts over the next few years, whilst adopting a strategy
that does not push agendas that could dent the image that the
island would attempt to build through this new focus. In this
regard, it may be time to rethink the practice of aggressively
promoting the island on several fronts which may not be aligned
with the overall strategy. This is not merely an exercise of
tweaking the way we market our island’s offerings, but thinking
of reputational sustainability. We must ask which economic sectors
are attuned to the reputation we wish to achieve and act
accordingly.

Malta is lagging behind other EU Member States, not to mention
the UK, in the promotion of the Tech sector and to make the giant
strides it needs in order to catch up with the pack the Government
needs to act fast, invest its resources properly and make sure that
it does not trip in its own feet by promoting agendas and
incentives that alienate and disrupt the good progress being
made.

On the other hand, the Government must ride and build on its
success stories and place itself at the starting blocks ready to
sprint ahead before other jurisdictions. This is the case, for
instance, of the technology regulator – the MDIA – which was a
first of its kind. The EU Commission today is proposing an AI
regulatory framework that centres around a certification system
that resembles that administered by the MDIA under Maltese law
since 2018. Similarly, the Government passed the legislation
intended to regulate DLT beyond crypto assets, in 2018. It now
needs to continue with such legislative efforts providing positive
and clear solutions to questions of legal personality and
liability, which legislation has been shelved despite having been
painstakingly drafted over a two year period with the inputs from
and consultation with the industry. This, too, was a first of its
kind and intended to bring regulatory certainty to an …….

Source: https://www.mondaq.com/fin-tech/1127862/technology-a-solution-to-malta39s-woes-part-2