Budget 2026 theme announced: ‘A strong economy – a future for our children’

The theme for the 2026 Budget will be “A strong economy – a future for our children", the government has announced. 

Finance Minister Clyde Caruana will deliver the budget in parliament on Monday.

Next year's budget, which Prime Minister Robert Abela has pledged will be the “best ever", will see continued investment in families, workers, youth and pensioners, the government said in a statement on Thursday.

The country’s “strong economy... offers a future for our children,” the statement read, describing the upcoming budget as "paving the way for a bright future for the children of our country”.

Fielding questions from Times of Malta editor-in-chief Herman Grech earlier this week, Caruana revealed that next year’s budget would see Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) payments set at less than €5 per week, while pensions are set to see a “hefty increase”.

The minister also ruled out a four-day work week “for now”, arguing such a move would cost €360 million a year, while revealing that families would be the biggest beneficiaries.

Asked about measures to help boost the country’s dismal fertility rate, he said: “You’ll have to wait until Monday to find out".

It its budget proposals, the opposition party suggested a new tax band for families with more than one child, while UĦM – Voice of the Workers called for an increase to one-time payments for second and third children. 

The Equality Commission meanwhile, has called for longer maternity and paternity leave to help boost the fertility rate.