The European Commission wants more of Ta' Cenc to be protected than the areas designated for conservation as proposed by the government.

The Commission has not yet specified the extent of the area it wants protected, pending talks with the Maltese authorities, expected to be held over the coming weeks.

Its demand follows a recent evaluation of the sites being proposed by the government to be included in the EU's Natura 2000 environment network. Sources close to the Commission said the Environment Directorate General has written to the government to demand that more be done to protect the wild species of flora and fauna present in the area and invited it to revise its plans in order to grant protection to more of the plateau.

A Commission spokesman said Brussels was demanding more protection of Ta' Cenc against possible future development.

He explained that the coastal edge of the area known as Rdum Ta' Cenc has been proposed by the Maltese government as a special protection area under the Birds Directive.

This is due to the fact that a substantial percentage of the population of Cory's shearwater breeds in the area.

The spokesman added: "The Commission services are of the view that other species of wild flora and fauna exist on the site of Ta' Cenc, so further sites should be designated for conservation under the Habitats Directive (Directive 92/43/EEC). The Commission services intend to discuss this further with the Maltese authorities".

A final opinion by the Commission is expected to be published by the end of the year.

As part of its obligations under EU environment legislation, Malta had to propose a number of sites to be designated as special areas of conservation due to their rich biodiversity and ecological importance. As part of the exercise, the government last year submitted to the Commission a list of 23 sites to be considered as forming part of the protected Natura 2000 network.

This did not include the whole area of Ta' Cenc but only its cliff side. This has angered many Maltese environment NGOs that insist that the whole area should be protected due to its high value of ecological biodiversity.

In order to exert more pressure on the government and the Commission, a few weeks ago Din L-Art Helwa launched a public campaign called Save Ta' Cenc. It is collecting signatures for a petition to be sent to the Prime Minister and the European Commissioner for the Environment. The NGO is currently at odds with the Malta Environment and Planning Authority over the interpretation of the new local plan for Gozo, which it says conflicts with the Structure Plan in that it appears to open the door to extensive development beyond the precincts of the present hotel complex.

Ten years ago an application was submitted to Mepa for the development of 57 large villas, 49 bungalows, a five-storey hotel, 66 "tourist units" and a full-size golf course, with the possibility of further development.

According to environment NGOs, the Ta' Cenc area is an extremely rich habitat for rare plants, including species found only on the Maltese Islands. The area is home to the national plant, the Maltese Rock Centaury (Widnet il-Bahar) while the endangered Common Spleenwort and Sand Vipers-Bugloss grow only at Ta' Cenc and nowhere else in the Maltese Islands. The Common Spleenwort was thought to be extinct locally, but was re-discovered last October.