The Opposition welcomed the EU Commission’s recommendation to abrogate Malta from the Excessive Deficit Procedure.

It also welcomed the declaration that Malta was compliant with the Stability and Growth Pact.

In a statement, deputy leader Mario de Marco said this was an important development which placed the government in a favourable position to instill a positive sentiment to achieve common goals; namely, in boosting local and foreign investment; attain fiscal consolidation without inhibiting growth; and undertake the required structural reforms, notably on pensions and health care.

This development should, however, not be considered to be an end in itself, but a stimulus to address immediate and future fiscal challenges courageously, Dr de Marco said.

He said the government was committed to achieve a fiscal balance by 2019, and to cut the country’s debt level by about seven per cent of GDP by 2018.

The target this year is to narrow the deficit by 0.6 per cent of GDP or by about €50 million, where the latter would be assessed in terms of progress achieved in undertaking structural fiscal consolidation rather than a correction dependent on one-off factors.

In this respect, the Commission highlighted the point that its projections for 2015 were indicating that this requirement could be an issue.

The Opposition noted important observations flagged by the EU Commission report on the sustainability of Malta’s public finances which the report considered to be at risk in the long term.

This observation by the EU Commission was made in view of Malta’s ageing factor, notably on the expected future outlays on pensions and the provision of health care, and the government’s lack of progress in addressing the situation, Dr de Marco said.

He said that in light of these cautions raised, the Opposition appealed to the government to start seriously working in mitigating future fiscal and economic challenges for the benefit of the younger generation.

Addressing the risks flagged by the Commission was a responsibility that should be borne now. The Opposition was ready to contribute in the best interest of the country by calling on the government to re-establish the right platforms, where all stakeholders involved, including the Opposition, would discuss and come up with a sustainable fiscal model for the challenges flagged.

A vision and a drive to act as a nation on these challenges were considered to be the best way forward, Dr de Marco said.