In his weekly video blog, the Minister for Finance Prof. Edward Scicluna welcomes the recently-published appraisal by the European Commission, which describes Malta as sailing smoothly through choppy waters.

He notes that the Commission’s report highlights two main aspects: Malta’s current performance, as well as it expected performance for the coming years.

The Minister remarks that in both instances, the Commission’s observations on Malta’s performance are positive and encouraging.

He also notes that despite the ‘choppy waters’ which surround Malta, namely other sluggish European economies, Malta is managing to excel among its peers in both economic growth and job creation.

He explains that this was thanks to last year’s budget measures, which boosted the economy by encouraging more people to join the work force, most notably women, thanks to initiatives such as the free child care centre service.

The Minister underlines that the Commission’s positive appraisal joins similar recent appraisals by credit rating agencies such as Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s, and Fitch.

– 6th November, 2014