The Labour leader and his party's commitment is towards fiscal discipline which would ensure that the people's money is used wisely, Labour leader Joseph Muscat said this evening.
In a statement he said the government's aim should consistently be in favour of a balanced budget and debt reduction.
The PL understood the need for the inclusion, in Maltese legislation, of mechanisms which would ensure such discipline while leaving realistic space for the government to act in exceptional circumstances, such as a recession.
The Labour leader appealed to the Prime Minister to ensure that such flexibility was guaranteed in the inter-governmental talks that will be held in the coming weeks.
The PL's position, he said, was a clear sign that a new government would ensure stability.
Dr Muscat said that from a technical point of view, while he had his reservations on whether the international markets would see the agreement as a solution for the existing uncertainty, the wider role given to the European Central Bank was a positive step.
He expressed concern about the role given by the European Council for the preparation of a report for more fiscal integration.
As leader of the opposition, he said, he was willing to support the government as long as taxation decisions continued to be taken by the Maltese government. Such decisions will not be affected by the agreement reached today, Dr Muscat said.
He added that any attempt towards the creation of a Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base, which would ruin the country's competitiveness especially in the financial services sector, should be resisted.
In the same way, agreement should not be reached on the introduction of a financial transaction tax, which would undermine the country's position.
The government, he said, should not support this report if it would lead to these points as it would go against the national interest and remove the required flexibility.
The only credible way of how any deficit reduction plan could be successful was through economic expansion. So the debate and action both in Malta and in Europe should be towards wealth and job generation.
These were the only solutions to the problems created by those who thought the country could be in debt forever.
Children should be left wealth and not debt, he said.