Finance Minister Clyde Caruana on Wednesday appeared to downplay excessive deficit procedures by the EU against Malta, saying he was well aware of the rules and Malta was on its way to reducing the deficit.

The European Commission warned eight member states about their excessive budget deficits last week. Malta ended 2023 with a deficit of -4.9%, just under 2% about the 3% reference level. 

Caruana said when speaking in parliament that the commission's statement did not come as a surprise but it was not a source of worry because Malta was on course to reduce its deficit by 0.5% per year over the next four years, in line with EU 'reference trajectory' requirements. The deficit would therefore slip below 3% within the time limit set by the Economic Governance Framework agreement reached between EU finance ministers last January.  

The national debt would be in the region of 50% as the economy continued to grow, well below the EU limit of 60%. 

The government, Caruana said, would not introduce austerity measures. It was keeping its promise to grow the economy, and it would also keep its electoral pledge to reduce taxes.   

The minister also referred to criticism about tax refund cheques being issued to foreigners.

He explained that foreign workers were taxpayers too and therefore entitled to the refunds. Furthermore, they were human like anyone else, and they were providing a service to the country.