The Prime Minister this morning expressed concern over the impact on Malta of the upheaval in the oil-producing regions of the Gulf and the Middle-East, and said that justified the government's decision to diversify Malta's energy sources.

The government, he noted, had decided that part of Malta's energy supply would come from an undersea cable link to the European grid. The new power station turbines could also be modified to operate on gas. Malta was also encouraging the greater use of solar and wind energy.

Speaking in a Radio 101 interview, Dr Gonzi also referred to Libya and said Malta's position remained that no one could impose a solution and the Libyan people should be able to find a solution in an environment that was free and peaceful.

It was difficult to say when or how the current situation would be resolved but Malta should not be disheartened, he said. The current situation was causing problems, but in the same way how Malta had been able to overcome crises in the past three years, it would also weather this storm.

The important thing was to be able to take decisions from a position of strength. That was why over the past years the government had taken tough and unpopular decisions to ensure that the economy remained strong.

While other countries in the past months had to take tough austerity measures and even resort to the International Monetary Fund, Malta saw its economy grow by over 3.7% and job creation was among the fastest in the EU.

He was encouraged to note, Dr Gonzi said, that the deficit at the end of the year was 3.6%, down from the 3.8% which the government itself had projected in the Budget Speech. The Opposition had constantly criticised the government for its decisions, yet those decisions were bearing fruit, even though, Dr Gonzi admitted, the government could have been more sensitive in some cases.