(Adds PN's reaction)

The European Commission should stop running after European governments warning them it would be initiating deficit procedures against them in times of such crisis, Labour leader Joseph Muscat said.

Speaking during a meeting with Employment Commissioner Vladimir Spidla, Dr Muscat said he would not be going into the merits of why the deficit in Mlata had gone up but at such times governments had a duty to invest and reduce taxes to get the economy running.

Mr Spidla said the Commission's position was very similar to that of Dr Muscat and its warnings were a sign that the financial stability project would not be abandoned.

He congratulated Mr Muscat for his party's victory in the EP elections and described the result as impressive.

In its reaction, the PN said that the Labour leader gave different messages according to his audience. After he spent a week attacking the government for placing jobs before the deficit, now that he was speaking to the Employment Commissioner, he spoke in a different way.