The government ought to shoulder political responsibility for a European Commission decision taken earlier this month that will see Malta reducing fiscal incentives for its industries, Nationalist Party leader Simon Busuttil said yesterday.
He said the “incompetent” Prime Minister, Joseph Muscat, had “concealed” the decision. The decision, made on the basis of EU rules, meant that Maltese and Gozitan enterprises would be getting fewer funds to help them grow and this would also affect job creation.
Speaking in Victoria, Dr Busuttil said the government and Dr Muscat had shown “gross incompetence” in not managing to negotiate something so basic and reverse a decision which was going to adversely affect Maltese businesses.
It also revealed the government’s lack of knowledge in the workings of the EU.
On the contrary, the previous administration had fought hard to bring to Malta €1.128 billion in EU funds.
Dr Busuttil also referred to an EU report on Gozo as a region, revealed recently, which says Gozo is not eligible for special funding. The PN has drawn criticism from Labour for keeping it under wraps.
The report was concluded in October 2012 when the previous government was facing internal problems and which eventually led to it being toppled after losing a vote of confidence, he recalled.
Despite having failed to publish it, there had been nothing to embarrass the government in the report, as it was proposing that Gozo should receive €56 million in EU funds until 2020. In reality the PN had managed to obtain €112 million, which is 10 per cent of the total EU funds allocated to Malta.
“We have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of when it comes to Gozo. On the contrary, we are very proud of what we did here and this EU report is a certificate of our achievements,” he said.
He said people were disillusioned with Labour’s first year in office. Unemployment was up and businesses were reporting a drop in sales. “People are disappointed with the Labour government and with Prime Minister Muscat. There is a big difference between Dr Muscat before and after the election. In one year, the country took leaps backwards instead of forward,” he said.
Unemployment was increasing every month and there were 8,000 people seeking work, including an increase of 1,400 youths looking for a job. Unemployment in Gozo had increased by six per cent when the Labour Party pledged to create jobs in Gozo for Gozitans.
He mentioned a recent government effort to improve Gozo’s general appearance, saying the people working on this project were in precarious employment as they were receiving less than the minimum wage.