Malta is trying to convince the European Commission to lift its excessive deficit procedure “at the first possible opportunity”, Finance Minster Edward Scicluna said yesterday.

He said Malta had managed to bring its financial house in order a year earlier than the deadline it had been given by the Commission under the procedure started against Malta for overstepping the deficit-to-GDP limit.

Speaking from Brussels in the wake of the positive forecast issued by the commission on Malta’s economy, he said the government was trying to persuade the Commission that Malta had achieved the desired results and an end to the procedure at the first possible occasion was desirable.

The Commission is expected to analyse the island’s progress later this year and will issue a recommendation on whether to lift the procedure. Normally such a decision is taken in June.

According to the rules, Brussels will only do so if it deems that the progress achieved is on a sound and sustainable footing.

It can’t be that demand is not up

Prof Scicluna said that while the EU executive was forecasting that the deficit will fall to 2.5 per cent of GDP by the end of the year, the government was aiming at an even more ambitious 2.1 per cent.

Asked how the economy was being reported as growing at a good pace when retail statistics showed a downward trend, Prof Scicluna admitted this was awkward but said it probably had to do with the way the National Statistics Office was collecting retail data. “I have to see how this retail data is being issued by the NSO and check whether internet sales are being included in the data. It can’t be that demand is not up.”

On job creation, Minister Scicluna said that the commission was forecasting an employment growth rate of 2.1 per cent – the highest in the EU.

Although this would be lower than last year, it would still be a very good rate, meaning that Malta was managing to create jobs, he said.

He denied unemployment was on the rise – one of the Nationalist Party’s major points of criticism – saying the Commission was forecasting a stable outlook on unemployment.

‘Unaware’ of declaration

Finance Minister Edward Scicluna yesterday admitted he was “unaware” he had to present a declaration of assets in Parliament according to the code of ethics for MPs.

Questioned over media reports that he, together with another 15 Labour MPs, had failed to submit their annual declarations by the end of April – a deadline established by the Speaker – Prof. Scicluna admitted he did not know about the need for such a declaration.

“I was under the impression that as ministers we needed to submit only one declaration,” he explained. “However, this morning I enquired with the whip and he informed me that I need to submit a separate declaration as an MP.”

The Finance Minister said he would now rectify his position.

According to a report in The Malta Independent all Nationalist MPs have submitted their declarations but almost half the PL MPs, including the Prime Minister, have so far failed to do so.

Prof Scicluna served as an MEP for Labour until his election to the Maltese Parliament last year. The Sunday Times of Malta reported that he ignored the Labour Party’s code of ethics by failing to show how he spent European Parliament funds in four of his five years in office.

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