Miriam Dalli insisted that the government's aid to cushion energy prices "will remain", when asked if the support will continue into next year. 

"As a government, we are committed to continue offering the necessary aid, because we want to do our part when it comes to the control of inflation,” the Energy and Environment Minister said on Friday.

The government is currently absorbing the increase in energy prices by subsidising Enemalta and is also paying out subsidies to importers of cereal, flour, and animal feed.

Malta is spending more than €400m annually in subsidies to cushion the cost of energy. 

“We know what we are doing, and the situation and system is sustainable. Our commitments are clear, it was always clear, and the government supports this direction.”

Last year, the government said that the average household would have to pay an extra €1,700 per year for energy unless it was ubsidised. In 2022, energy subsidies amounted to 2.5 per cent of GDP and are projected to reach 3.5 per cent this year. 

While Prime Minister Robert Abela has reiterated that the energy subsidies “for all families and businesses” will be kept for as long as necessary, international institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund, are advising the government to prepare an “exit strategy” from the fixed-energy price policy. 

When the minister was asked to clarify if the energy subsidy will continue into next year, Dalli said the government is committed to continue helping families, and the commitment will remain. 

She said the government will not repeat the mistake the Nationalist Party did when it increased energy prices back when it was in government. 

“The results show that the ripple effect of those decisions was much bigger,” she said.

Public consultation on Cospicua environment project

Dalli was also asked if the planned San Ġwann and Floriana greening project will be implemented by the end of the legislature. 

Seven years after the project to turn Floriana into a garden city was first announced, the government pledged to convert the large urban space into a garden last year. 

Earlier this year, the ministry also announced that a section of San Ġwann’s main road will be transformed into a green space. 

Dalli said consultations with different stakeholders on the San Ġwann project have begun, and said the authorities also met with students that attend the school in the area to understand what they want. 

"The process has begun and continues to progress," she said. 

Dalli said a public consultation for creating a garden behind the American University of Malta campus in Cospicua will also be launched.

She did not clarify when the public consultation will be announced. 

“We do this so that the process can begin, and we will do this for every project we have on the electoral manifest.”

Dalli made no mention of the Floriana garden project.