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The European Commission today called for reforms in pensions and healthcare and sustainable public finances and recommended that Malta be placed under an Excessive Deficit Procedure.
The Commission recommended that Malta should address its excessive deficit situation by 2014. It said that Malta should reach a deficit target of 3.4% of GDP for 2013 and 2.7% of GDP in 2014, which is consistent with an annual improvement of the structural balance of 0.7% of GDP in 2013, and 0.7% of GDP in 2014.
This adjustment path would bring the deficit below the 3% of GDP reference value by 2014 while at the same time ensuring that the debt ratio will approach the 60%-of-GDP reference value at a satisfactory pace.
In a statement issued in Brussels, the Commission said that "…Malta faces important entrenched challenges that affect the sustainability of its public finances and its potential growth…Malta made limited progress in implementing the 2012 country-specific recommendations. On the positive side, in the area of public finances, adequate action has been taken towards strengthening tax compliance and fighting tax evasion, but concrete results are yet to materialise…Finally, measures taken in energy, climate and transport are far from sufficient in view of the scale of the challenges in these areas”
The Commission issued country specific recommendations (CSRs) to Malta to help it improve its economic performance in the following areas
- Sustainable public finances and tax compliance
- Sustainable pension and healthcare systems
- Education, skills and family-friendly measures
- Energy supply, efficiency and renewables
More details and comparisons with other countries at
http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/europe-2020-in-your-country/malta/country-specific-recommendations/index_en.htm
