Tonio Fenech says €40 million cuts were not imposed by EC

Finance minister Tonio Fenech has said in parliament that the €40 million budgetary cuts undertaken by the government were not imposed by the European Commission.

In his reply to a parliamentary question tabled by Opposition MP Leo Brincat, Fenech said that the cuts are "a precautionary measure to grant the government more flexibility to put it in a position to make any needed adjustments."

"It is not true that this decision was imposed on us by the European Commission," Fenech stressed.

In January, Fenwech had announced that the government will cut €40 million from the 2012 budget in order to ensure that the deficit remained below 3% of GDP.

Speaking during the parliamentary debate on the Greek bailout, Fenech confirmed that the government will review its performance in June and decide what action to take if necessary when the mid-year results will be at hand.

Meanwhile, the bill on the Greek bailout was approved unanimously by parliament.  

Last week, Labour demanded an explanation on where will the cuts be made since government refused to give out such details in parliament.

During a press conference addressed by Opposition MPs Karmenu Vella and Charles Mangion and Labour MEP Edward Scicluna, it was announced that a parliamentary question was tabled in the European Parliament, asking European Commissioner Olly  Rehn to explain whether it was the EU commission who imposed the €40 million cuts on the government or whether the government itself proposed the cuts.

Karmenu Vella had also noted that according to the finance minister the cuts will only come into force if the government reaches its midyear targets in June. However, Vella said that the finance ministry has already issued instructions to governmental department and ministries to introduce budgetary cuts.