Labour MEP Prof Edward Scicluna today accused Finance Minister Tonio Fenech of repeatedly failing to heed the two explicit warnings prior to the publication of the 2012 Budget after the European Commission confirmed that it had repeatedly warned the government that Malta’s budget deficit would fall short of expectations. After an implied third and final warning in the beginning of January during the bilateral talks held with the Commission the government announced spending cuts worth €40 million worth 0.6 per cent of GDP.
In his reply to a set of parliamentary questions by Prof Scicluna, Economic Commissioner Olli Rehn left no doubt that the government’s 2012 budget launched in November still left Malta’s public finances in a state that was “not consistent with a sustainable correction of the excessive deficit.”
Commissioner Rehn added that the Commission had already expressed concern about Malta’s excessive deficit in the Commission’s 2011 Autumn Forecast and later in writing to Minister Fenech.
The extra €40m of cuts will slash spending on public services including Appogg, Sapport and Sedqa, which provide essential public health services as well as child protection services and support for victims of domestic violence.
Prof Scicluna, who is Vice-Chairman of the Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs committee, said:
“The Commission has in its normal diplomatic style revealed the government’s repeated failure to take control of our public finances. The €40m of extra cuts promised by the government could have been easily avoided if the minister had based his budget on the Commission’s credible economic forecasts rather than his own bombastic projections.”
Il-Kummissjoni tikkonferma li l-Ministru naqas milli jagħti widen għat-twissijiet
Wara li l-Kummissjoni Ewropea kkonfermat li kienet, għal aktar minn darba, wissiet lill-Gvern Malti li d-defiċit fil-baġit kien se jkun aktar milli mistenni, il-MPE Laburista Edward Scicluna llum akkuża lill-Ministru tal-Finanzi Tonio Fenech li naqas ripetutament milli jagħti widen għal żewġ twissijiet espliċiti qabel il-pubblikazzjoni tal-baġit tal-2012. Wara t-tielet u l-aħħar twissija impliċita fil-bidu ta’ Jannar, imwassla matul it-taħditiet bilaterali mal-Kummissjoni, il-Gvern ħabbar tnaqqis ta’ €40 miljun li jlaħħqu 0.6 fil-mija tal-Prodott Gross Domestiku (GDP).
Fit-tweġiba tiegħu għal sett ta’ mistoqsijiet magħmulin mill-Prof. Scicluna, il-Kummissarju Ekonomiku Olli Rehn ma ħalla l-ebda dubju li l-baġit tal-Gvern għas-sena 2012, imħabbar f’Novembru, kienet se jħalli l-finanzi pubbliċi ta’ Malta fi stat “li ma kienx konsistenti ma’ aġġustament sostenibbli tad-defiċit eċċessiv”.
Il-Kummissarju Rehn żied li l-Kummissjoni kienet diġà wriet tħassib dwar id-defiċit eċċessiv ta’ Malta fit-tbassir tagħha għall-Ħarifa 2011 u, aktar tard, lill-Ministru Fenech bil-kitba.
Il-qtugħ addizzjonali ta’ €40 miljun ifisser tnaqqis fis-servizzi pubbliċi nklużi l-Appoġġ, Sapport u Sedqa, li jipprovdu servizzi tas-saħħa essenzjali kif ukoll servizzi tal-ħarsien tat-tfal u appoġġ għall-vittmi tal-vjolenza domestika.
Prof. Scicluna, li huwa l-Viċi-President tal-Kumitat għall-Affarijiet Ekonomiċi u Monetarji tal-Parlament Ewropew qal, “Il-Kummissjoni, bl-istil diplomatiku normali tagħha, kixfet in-nuqqas ripetut tal-gvern li jieħu l-kontroll tal-finanzi publiċi tagħna. L-€40 miljun fi qtugħ addizzjonali mwiegħed mill-Gvern seta’ jiġi faċilment evitat kieku l-Ministru bbaża l-baġit fuq it-tbassir ekonomiku kredibbli tal-Kummissjoni u mhux fuq it-tbassir ottimista żżejjed tiegħu stess.”
– Friday, 04 May, 2012
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