Mario Draghi meets Muscat ahead of tomorrow's ECB meeting

Prime Minister Minister Joseph Muscat welcome European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and central bank governors Auberge de Castille ahead of tomorrow's ECB meeting.

This is the first time that Malta is hosting such a meeting.

Addressing the governors, Muscat gave an overview of the Maltese economy, explaining his government's success in lowering the deficit and heading to a 1.1% rate, along with a targeted 65% debt. He spoke of Malta's economic growth rate that outperformed the euro zone average, result of increased consumption and reforms including the energy sector.

"We embarked on a number of reforms aimed at encouraging women to join the workforce, registered a substantial drop in unemployment while expanding sectors to provide higher value services," he said.

Following Malta's accession to the European Union, Malta registered increases in exports while the country boasted a sound banking sector and a resilient financial services.

Turning to the European scenario, Muscat said Malta wanted to see more complete European Monetary Union (EMU) that would strengthen the resilience of the euro area. "This can be further strengthened if countries can share the risk of shocks," he said, encouraging the completion of the banking union.

He called for more flexibility and a quicker reply to changing economic scenarios while speaking against one-size-fits-all policies that left little room for maneuver.