The Malta Employers’ Association said it agrees with the EU’s recommendations for Malta to persist in reducing the deficit and to address skill mismatches and pension reform.

The MEA welcomed the lifting of the EU’s excessive deficit procedure against Malta, recalling that its pre-electoral memorandum to political parties had prioritised fiscal consolidation through deficit and debt reduction.

This occurred without the need to resort to austerity measures as in other economies, the association noted, adding the effort must be sustained through building a competitive economy and proper management of the country’s finances.

Challenges in this regard were the financing of free health care and education and unnecessary expenditure such as the rapid increase in public sector employment which, in many cases, was draining human resources from the private sector.