Helga Ellul, president of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Enterprise, recently returned from a Madrid meeting of BusinessEurope where the message was clear: discipline and growth must go hand in hand.
"In order for growth we also need discipline. It's no good just blaming Greece for this crisis. It started with countries like Germany and France which did not meet the Masstricht criteria in the past. Strong discipline is essential and governments need to see where expenditure can be cut. The markets at the moment are still uneasy, so we need to make the right decisions," Ms Ellul tells The Times Business in an interview.
BusinessEurope is an umbrella European business organisation consisting of 40 chambers of commerce and industry from 34 countries. At the meeting it issued a major policy document entitled Go For Growth, an agenda for the European Union in 2010-2014, which emphasised the need for economic reform, cuts in expenditure and economic growth.
"BusinessEurope is an excellent forum and one hears about issues which are so similar to ours in Malta. At the Madrid meeting we were addressed by Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodríguez Zapatero who even acknowledged the problem of Spain's labour market rigidities, something the Spanish employers have been pointing out for quite some time," she says.
BusinessEurope made it clear that fiscal consolidation should rest on expenditure cuts and not tax increases. Would the Malta Chamber like to see expenditure cuts in Malta in the next budget?
"As much as possible, yes, as tax increases will negatively affect businesses. We will have to see what the effect of the VAT rise in the UK will have over there. We cannot have cuts in education but we must have a good look at whether we still need a stipend system which is costing us millions. Are stipends really so necessary? We must also ensure that there is no wastage when it comes to our social systems and abuse must be tackled."
BusinessEurope also called for structural reforms to help get Europe out of its crisis. Ms Ellul stresses that Malta needs to find out what is holding back the female participation rate in its labour market.
"Perhaps childcare facilities need to be improved, but we are too slow at tackling this problem. What is keeping our females away from the labour market? We need to look seriously at this, we need studies. Is it a cultural issue?" she asks.
She says that one thing that comes to mind when considering reform is Enemalta and the Water Services Corporation.
"I know it's difficult for a country the size of Malta for such companies to be in the private sector, but the way these companies are run and handled should be reviewed. There is an element of neglect there, and that is very worrying. We need to know where we are heading in these sectors."
Ms Ellul says the Chamber has repeatedly stressed on the need for a link to the energy grid in Sicily.
"We haven't heard anything about this for quite some time. People only talk about the power station, nobody talks about the energy grid, and this upsets us."
She points out that the labour market also needs to be reformed and needs to be made more flexible. The Chamber, she says, is not after a reduction of employees' benefits but believes more flexibility is needed on the model of EU flexisecurity.
"If a firm has to restructure it needs the best people with the best skills, so the system should no longer be based on 'last one in first one out', irrespective of age or how long a person has worked with a company, otherwise you can't do a job properly.
"I also have a strong belief in life-long learning, especially e-learning. In fact I have a programme at my company. Age makes no difference. We need to stress more on maths and science, subjects which are so fundamental to the new jobs we are creating."
Ms Ellul supports the idea of a bank levy that some EU countries are introducing saying "it will come at an EU level"
"The banks were saved, now it is their turn to play their part. I think it is only right," she points out.
BusinessEurope also spoke about a new stability culture for the euro and Ms Ellul believes the surveillance of eurozone members' national budgets by the EU is a step in the right direction.
"This is definitely the right thing to do, yes. The euro is so important for all of us and it has to be supported by all of us. There has to be a whole new structure for the euro to be supported, not only by a strong country supporting a weaker one. We all have to support it."
She is also in favour of a system of gradual penalties and sanctions in case of repeated indiscipline by eurozone members, as highlighted by BusinessEurope in Madrid.
"Eurozone countries should know beforehand what to expect and there has to be careful scrutiny. The growth and stability pact has to be strengthened. BusinessEurope is saying that a whole set of reforms on the euro is needed, including on Eurostat, which needs to be more independent and needs to have the power to name and shame. If you get a warning, don't ignore it, start doing your homework."
How worried was she about the state of Malta's public finances?
"On the while we are positive. We just have to be focused and know what we need to do. We need to be export driven and we need foreign investment. I think the government sometimes needs to be a bit clearer regarding their goals. We seem to go from one crisis to another and we tend to forget what to focus on.
"Then of course there is our two party system and the thought of an election around the corner which doesn't help at all. We need to focus and talk together. Of course we have the MCESD but it sometimes difficult to get things through there.
"On the question of Cola for example, we acknowledge that this is necessary for people on the minimum wage or people not covered by a collective agreement, but for everyone else it should be a matter for negotiations, especially for the manufacturing sector which has to face very strong competition," she says.
Ms Ellul points out that the country must also take into consideration domestic debt and private business debt, besides government debt. "These things do worry us," she stresses.
She adds: "We would like the government to help the private sector by for example, encouraging private pension schemes."
The Chamber president ends with a subtle word of advice:
"Reforms will come about, but the longer we wait the more it will hurt and cause social unrest, which must be avoided," she says, in obvious reference to countries such as Greece.