Prime Minister Robert Abela said on Thursday that he had insisted at an EU leaders' meeting that the bloc should not adopt a one-size-fits-all within the Single Market and should consider the impact of its decisions on small states on the periphery.

He was speaking on the second day of the summit meeting, which was mostly focused on the Single Market and competitiveness.

Abela said in remarks to the media that the Single Market needed to be fair and meet the aspirations of all Europeans.

He highlighted the need to continue to reduce bureaucracy to enable small and medium-sized enterprises to grow, something the meeting agreed to. 

He said the government, through the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development (MCESD) would be sounding out the social partners on proposals made in a report by former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta on improving European competitiveness and the Single Market, particularly in areas such as the environment, the green economy and digitalisation.  

Abela stressed that in areas such as energy, agriculture and medicines, the Single Market needed to cater for the needs of all, including small states and those on the periphery and therefore there could not be a one-size-fits-all. That argument, he said, was included in the meeting's conclusions.