Prime Minister and Labour Leader Robert Abela told Malta’s SMEs that Labour’s economic plan is built on confidence, stability and credibility, insisting that the country’s business community can continue planning ahead because Labour has a proven track record and a clear direction for the next five years.

Abela is taking part in a debate with Opposition Leader Alex Borg, organised by the Chamber of SMEs, whose President Paul Abela opened the discussion by describing SMEs as the backbone of the Maltese economy.

The Chamber President said small and medium-sized businesses, family businesses and self-employed workers create jobs and take risks every day, and therefore need to be sustained, supported and strengthened. He also said that proposals must be guided by the principle of “think small first”, ensuring that the impact on SMEs is taken into account from the outset.

In his opening remarks, Robert Abela said that over the past six and a half years he had shared some of the biggest challenges faced by businesses. He recalled the pandemic in 2020, when many businesses were under severe pressure, and said Government stood by them through direct support, including the wage supplement.

He also referred to the energy crisis that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, saying Labour gave businesses stability at a time when many European economies were hit by serious price shocks.

According to Abela, confidence, trust and stability were the three guarantees Labour provided in recent years. These, he said, were made possible by job creation, quality employment and the attraction of investment in higher value-added sectors.

He noted that Malta has the strongest job creation record ever registered by a European country and is in a situation of full employment, with one of the main challenges now being the need for more trained workers.

Abela said stability also comes from quality investment, pointing to the recently announced €150 million foreign direct investment by Vantive, which will create 250 new careers. He also referred to ST Microelectronics, saying infrastructure related to the investment is being completed this week and that the project was one that many countries wanted to attract.

The Labour Leader said Malta’s economic growth gives businesses certainty. He said that in 2013, Malta’s GDP stood at less than €8 billion a year, while today it has almost tripled to nearly €25 billion.

He said both the IMF and the European Commission are certifying that Malta will continue having one of the strongest economies, with average real growth of 4%.

Abela also said Labour will continue reducing the deficit, with the aim of returning to a surplus by 2029.

On debt, he said Malta started from a debt burden of around 70% of national output, and despite more than €1 billion in energy subsidies and wage supplement support, this has been brought down to 46.4% and is projected to fall below 40%.

“These are the guarantees that allow you to keep planning your investment,” he told SMEs.

The Prime Minister said energy policy remains crucial for businesses, because stable energy prices gave enterprises certainty and protected competitiveness. He contrasted this with short-term approaches that shift the burden onto people and businesses, warning that such policies reduce consumption, weaken demand and create a downward spiral.

He said Labour’s approach is a progressive economic policy of support, which continues investing in businesses and workers.

Abela said the debate offered an opportunity to discuss practical issues that matter to SMEs, including efficiency, bureaucracy reduction, labour migration, investment in SMEs, the Innovation Hub, simpler tax submissions, lower social security contributions and lower corporate tax.

He said this discussion is possible because Malta has already secured the most crucial fundamentals: job creation, foreign direct investment, local investment, stronger economic conditions, better salaries, and a continuous process of reskilling and upskilling.

The Labour Leader also welcomed the Chamber of SMEs’ 33 proposals, saying around two-thirds of them align with Labour’s electoral manifesto, including the Individual Learning Account and investment in digitalisation and technology.

Abela said he was attending the debate with a competent team and a clear guarantee of economic growth in innovative and resilient sectors.

“With us, you have the guarantee that we know where we are, we know where we are going, and we know where we stand with the European Commission,” he said.

He stressed that Labour’s credibility is built on realism and responsibility. He said every proposal in Labour’s manifesto is costed, with Government knowing how and when it can be implemented, and how it fits within fiscal forecasts.

That credibility, he said, is also sustained by a diversified economy, a 4% growth target, a commitment to reduce the debt burden and deficit, and a plan to keep inflation below the EU average.

Abela said Labour’s track record is what distinguishes the two manifestos. He pointed to results in the labour market, public finances and the wider economy, saying Labour had raised the country’s level overall.

The next step, he said, is to take the economy and wellbeing to the next level.

He explained that Labour’s manifesto is measured in two ways: implementation and, for the first time in Maltese politics, a Wellbeing Index. This will assess how each measure contributes to people’s quality of life across ten dimensions and 25 targets, linked to Malta Vision 2050, with the aim of improving wellbeing by 25%.

Abela closed by thanking SMEs for their resilience, saying the success achieved so far belongs to them. Government’s role, he said, was to support them, but businesses were the real catalysts of Malta’s economic success.

He recalled how, during the pandemic, Government gave businesses courage, but businesses gave Government even greater courage by keeping workers employed and continuing to believe in the country.

Now, he said, Malta must continue building on that success, strengthening the economy sustainably and investing in the sectors that will shape the country’s future.

“Let us keep working together,” Abela said, “so that this jewel of a country we have, the most beautiful country in Europe and the best economy in Europe, continues moving to the next level.”