Malta’s inflation at 2.3%, above eurozone average
PN slams government 'failure' as prices of food, drinks, services rise sharply
Malta’s inflation rate in December stood at 2.3 per cent, above the Eurozone average which fell to 2 per cent, Eurostat data show.
Meanwhile in the Eurozone, inflation over the same period fell from 2.4 per cent to 2 per cent.
Commenting on the data, the Nationalist Party slammed the report as “another failure” for the government.
“Prices in Malta are rising at a significantly faster pace than in most European countries. That is placing even greater pressure on Maltese and Gozitan households, particularly the most vulnerable, including the elderly,” the opposition said in a statement.
The steepest increases were recorded in services, as well as food and beverages.
The PN pointed out it was “troubling” that while Malta continues to experience a cost-of-living rate higher than the average of countries using the euro, several other EU Member States now have substantially lower inflation levels.
The opposition accused the government of “losing touch” with the daily realities facing young people, families and the elderly.
It listed a number of “concrete proposals” aimed at easing the burden of cost of living including the removal of the tax on the Cost of Living Adjustment, a tax exemption on the first €10,000 from overtime and part-time work, and tax credits for small and medium-sized enterprises.
The PN is also proposing a national fund supporting import and export-dependent industries, as well as a new, sustinable economc model based on valude-added sectors that create quality jobs, better wages and higher productivity.