The prime minister stood firm with regards to Malta's tax scheme, saying the European Commission needed to understand that this was the country's prerogative.

Malta had been accused in the Country Specific Report published by the European Commission on Wednesday of having a fiscal system which encouraged aggressive tax planning.

Speaking to journalists after delivering a speech at the FinanceMalta conference, he said that Malta was one of six or seven countries that had a recommendation about their tax system.

"The reaction of all of them – from Ireland, to the Netherlands and Luxembourg – was the same: that this is an issue of national competence and that we disagree with their analysis," he said.

You have to be able to run a party if you want to persuade people that you can run a country

The prime minister also noted that the number of recommendations made about Malta in the Country Specific Report were going down year on year, since these were being acted upon.

He was also asked to comment on the schisms within the Opposition, but said he only had one comment to make, anything else being inappropriate: “You have to be able to run a party if you want to persuade people that you can run a country.”