Malta off the hook on deficit

The European Commission said this morning that it would not take further legal action against Malta over its excessive deficit and gave the island a clean bill on the 'effective measures' taken.

Following the presentation of the 2012 budget and further cost cutting measures announced by the Maltese authorities last Friday, the Commission today concluded that Malta was in line with the EU rules and 'no further measures are necessary."

On the other hand the Commission decided to take further measures against Hungary.

Projected at 2.8 per cent of GDP by the end of 2011, Malta currently has one of the lowest deficits among the EU 27. The government said last week it would this year reduce its spending by €40 million more than announced in the Budget in November.