EU Finance Ministers meeting this morning in Brussels agreed that Malta was making good progress towards reducing its deficit to under 3% of GDP by the end of this year and decided that there is no need for further action by the Commission as Malta is expected to meet its targets.

Malta’s situation was discussed during the ECOFIN meeting which assessed measures taken by Malta, in response to a recommendation issued in February 2010, in order to bring its government deficit back within EU rules.

In its recommendation endorsed by Finance Ministers, the EU executive found that on the basis of current information, “the Maltese government has taken action representing adequate progress towards correcting the deficit within the time limits set by the Council, and that no further steps under the EU's excessive deficit procedure are required at present.”

Malta had been subject to an excessive deficit procedure since July 2009, when the Council issued a recommendation on corrective action to be taken, calling for the deficit to be brought back below 3% of GDP in 2010. However, in a revised recommendation issued in February 2010, the Council extended the deadline for correction by one year in the light of a sharper-than-expected deterioration in Malta's economy. This caused an upward shift in its projected deficit, which reached 3.8 per cent of GDP in 2009.

In its February 2010 recommendation, the Council set 2011 as the target year for reducing the deficit below 3% of GDP, calling on Malta to achieve a 3.9 per cent deficit target set in its 2010 budget, which it did.

Malta has to ensure that it reduces this year’s deficit by at least another 0.75 per cent.

Malta is being represented at the Council by Finance Minister Tonio Fenech.