Labour leader Joseph Muscat complained today that local medicine prices had remained high - even 40% higher that mainland Europe in some cases - despite the medicines registration system.

He said at a meeting with the UHM leadership that Malta needed the mechanism which existed before the general elections to stop price abuses.

Dr Muscat insisted that what the people needed most from the forthcoming Budget was certainty.

He was therefore calling on the government to establish a ceiling on utility tariffs and to commit itself not to raise administrative fees.

He criticised the government for not having taken the opportunity provided by the EU to reduce VAT on tourism services.

On privatisation, the Labour leader complained that Malta had had much privatisation, less liberalisation, and hardly any competition.

State monopolies in some cases, had become private monopolies, he said, yet the benefits of competition were evident.. He mentioned as an example, the telecoms sector which, he said, had grown as a result of competiton.