Karmenu Vella outlines economic growth as European Commission’s key challenge

Tourism minister and European Commission nominee Karmenu Vella outlined economic growth as the key area which the European Commission should work on.

Vella will become Malta’s new European Commissioner after last week’s cabinet reshuffle saw him nominated for the Brussels post – a post he described as being “a challenge and an opportunity”.

“Although I have worked for a long time in local politics, this is the first chance for me to work on a European, and even international, level,” he said, set to take on his new role in October.

Asked by this newspaper what he believed should be the hallmark of the new presidency’s agenda – the presidency for the European Commission will be decided in the forthcoming elections in May of this year – Vella said that the focus should be on economic growth.

“The principal challenge for Europe should be the economy and its growth,” he said. “This should be the immediate direction which Europe should strive towards.”

He said that Europe had done relatively well since coming out of a continental-wide recession with resources having been ‘under-utilised’. A focus on the economy, Vella said, would help to combat this.

In comments to other media, Vella admitted to being ‘apprehensive’ for the grilling session which would precede his appointment in Brussels, adding that he couldn’t afford to be overconfident or complacent.