Public sector expenditure cuts were implemented to give the government the necessary manoeuvring room to deal with any eventual fallout from international economic difficulties, the Finance Ministry has reiterated.

It issued a statement in reply to a Labour Party press conference that questioned the source and nature of the €40 million cuts announced last January.

Labour MEP Edward Scicluna used the press conference to announce that he had written to Economic Commissioner Olli Rehn, asking for further clarification about the European Commission’s level of involvement in the cuts.

Contrary to the impression given by the Opposition’s repeated economic fear-mongering, Malta’s economy grew by more than two per cent in 2011, a ministry spokesman said.

He made reference to recently published Eurostat figures showing Malta’s high employment growth when compared to the eurozone.

Investment and exports continued to grow, he added, with 40 new projects totalling €166 million expected to create some 950 jobs over the next three years.

All of this, said the spokesman, was due to the government’s initiatives geared towards encouraging economic growth.