Tag: Debt
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EU fiscal scoreboard: who is sliding fastest on deficit and debt (Q3 2025)
The latest Eurostat data for Q3 2025 show a clear deterioration in the seasonally adjusted EU-wide deficit position, while public debt ratios continued edging up overall — but with sharp divergences between Member States. The EU’s average government deficit increased from 2.9% from Q2 to 3.2% in Q3 and total debt to GDP rose from…
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You can’t crticise the government for raising debt if you want to keep the subsidies
Yesterday in Parliament, Alex Borg did a Miriam Dalli and said that he will be retaining energy subsidies and lower electricity bills via renewable energy sources if elected Prime Minister. Alex Borg doesn’t seem to understand that Malta has the lowest electricity tariffs in the EU because the government is spending up to €200 million…
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Discrepancy between government revenue and expenditure growth soars in January-June 2025
Ongoing attempts by the Ministry of Finances to rebalance the budget by reducing the deficit seem to be encountering difficulties as government’s expenditure keeps soaring. According to the latest NSO statistics, compared to the period of January to June of last year, the Government’s Consolidated Fund, which serves as the central government’s main expense account,…
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PN organises a press conference on the public debt
The Nationalist Party organsied a press conference today with the Shadow Minister of Finance, Graham Bencini and fellow MP, Jerome Caruana Cilia, highlighting the rising public debt and increasing government expenditure. The PN MPs also appealed for the government to be fiscally responsible. They also noted that the government is paying significant compensation payment to…
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Government deficit in 2024 was 3.7% of the GDP with a total deficit of €825.3 million according to Maastricht criteria
The National Statistics Office issued its latest government debt figures for 2024 under the Maastricht Treaty guidelines. It announced that government debt was 3.7% of GDP and the total deficit was at €825.3 million. These figures contrast with the figures issued last January because according to the Maastricht Treaty government balances are calculated with an…
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Kenya’s President William Ruto withdraws Finance Bill but debt crisis remains
Kenya’s President William Ruto has withdrawn the proposed Finance Bill that would have increased taxes after it sparked riots and protests in the centre of Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. Kenya, which is one of the fastest growing economies in Africa, has subsidised its economic growth with an ever growing and massive public bill. It owes at…
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“Coordinated attack” by Brussels against Miriam Dalli with the Excessive Deficit Procedure
Malta, France, Italy, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia have been warned by the EU Commission of their entry into the Excessive Deficit Procedure unless they curb their public expenditure to bring annual deficit to less than 3% and a debt to GDP ration less than 60%. Romania is currently the only EU-member state under the review…
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The US Justice Department blocks request by Medical Properties Trust to bail-out Steward Healthcare
Medical Properties Trust, the actual company that owns and controls Steward Healthcare in the US through a number of hidden layered companies has made a rather bizarre attempt to pull Steward out from bankruptcy by providing it with a new $300 million loan along with a plan to sell some of its assets in the…
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The Maltese government and Bank of Valletta still have to file their claims to recoup their money from Steward
So far, Steward’s debt restructuring documents in court don’t mention of the Maltese government or Bank of Valletta among its creditors. Bank of Valletta gave a €36 million to Steward for which its Chief Risk Officer had to resign. On the other hand the Maltese government can also be considered a creditor in Steward’s bankruptcy…
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Why is the government spending more?
Yesterday, Nationalist MP and Shadow Minister for Finance Graham Bencini published a post on the government’s finances where he said that the government is spending up to €590,000 daily on interest rates on around €9.5 billion in debt, €4 billion of which have been accumulated during Robert Abela’s administration. Now, of course interest rate payments…
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The IMF says the obvious that the governmnet’s finances are not sustainable
The IMF’s latest report on Malta delineates that the government’s finances and its spending spree are unsustainable. Apart from having to rebalance the budget and make cuts, the IMF is noting the obvious that constant subsidies to keep the economy afloat is not a sustainable economic policy and that the government needs to move towards…
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Food prices: another problem “solved” by throwing money at it
Prime Minister Robert Abela has solved the food price inflation problem like he solves any other problem, that is by throwing money at it. A new scheme has been announced whereby food importers and distributors will be subsidised to reduce the prices of some of their imported products. Robert Abela has been issuing subsidies for…
