Malta Means Business with its National Reform Programme 2015

In addition to the several measures taken lately in order to improve Malta’s economic and social conditions, Malta has just submitted its National Reform Programme for 2015 to the European Commission. This document further reaffirms Malta’s direction with regards to enhancing its growth and competitiveness.

Submitted annually as part of the EU’s economic trimester, this document outlines the government’s plan of action with regards to country-specific recommendations (CSRs) according to the EC and reaching Europe 2020 targets. In view of an encouraging economic backdrop across Europe overall, it seems that Malta’s potential of achieving its financial goals is high.

This year’s priorities areas, as outlined in the programme, include reaching fiscal targets so as to ensure the stability of public funds, reducing bureaucracy, reforming the justice system, boosting the business environment, particularly by strengthening the labour market and addressing the issue of skill mismatches as well as sustainability in the energy and transportation sectors.

Although the programme was very recently submitted by the ministry of finance, previously issued reports such as the DBRS certification and the EC’s Single Market scoreboard had already pointed out several strong points as well as areas for improvement for Malta’s economic and social growth. Malta’s quick response by advocating measures such as planning for the setting up of a national Development Bank demonstrates that the Maltese are determined to keep ahead of the game and adopt a pro-active approach.