Malta has ‘progressed’ on most of Europe’s recommendations - Scicluna

Malta has made progress on the majority of the country-specific recommendations set out by the European Commission, the Finance Ministry said in a statement.

“I am delighted that the word ‘progress’ features so often in the Overview Table of Malta’s Country Specific Recommendations summary assessment,” Finance Minister Edward Scicluna said, following the publication of a report on those recommendations.

The European Commission, Scicluna pointed out, acknowledged Malta’s progress in containing its deficit and debt, encouraging greater levels of labour market participation especially among women, and strengthening the work-relevance of education and training.

“The report states that Malta has made ‘substantial progress’ in correcting the excessive deficit and in implementing measures concerning public procurement procedures,” Scicluna said. It has ‘fully addressed’ the recommendation on the fiscal framework, with the adoption of the Fiscal Responsibility Act and the appointment of the members of the Fiscal Council.”

According to the report, Malta has also progressed towards strengthening the energy sector, diversifying the energy mix, cutting down bureaucracy and red tape, also increasing the efficiency of its judicial system.

Scicluna also highlighted the Commission’s acknowledgement of the robust performance of the Maltese labour market.

“Starting from a low level in the middle of the previous decade, labour-market participation and employment rates in Malta have been much more dynamic than in the rest of the euro area,” the report says.

However, the Commission also remarked that Malta must make more progress with regards pension reform

“The Government is confident that once the updated public pension expenditure projections, together with the recommendations made by the Joint Pensions Working Group, are published, an open bi-partisan discussion with the social partners can take place,” Scicluna said.