Finance minister Clyde Caruana plans a shorter, more technical budget speech on Monday, built around three pillars he describes as stability, economic direction and socialist principles. Certain sectors would receive extra benefits, while other measures were meant to steer the economy onto a different course. Some measures, he indicated, would be introduced to realign the economy, though he did not say what that would involve.
Neither Caruana nor Prime Minister Robert Abela would commit to whether Monday’s package includes the €1,000 annual “superbonus” that Labour promised before the general election. That pledge covered workers who have lived in Malta for more than five years. Caruana has argued that the government holds a five-year mandate to deliver its electoral programme, with priority going to energy subsidies and public finances.
The budget lands against a tough international backdrop. The war involving Iran has pushed energy prices sharply higher and disrupted supplies along a key route for global oil shipments. At the launch of the pre-budget document last month, Caruana said energy subsidies were expected to cost around €400 million this year, and that shielding consumers from international price rises would come before other demands on public spending.
He said the budget would carry some revenue-raising measures, while ruling out changes to VAT, income tax and social security contributions. He also spoke of trimming “fat” from ministry budgets, and argued that reshaping Malta’s economic model would require businesses to invest more in capital rather than leaning mainly on hiring extra workers.
Among the measures, third country nationals without long-term status will no longer qualify for free public transport. Abela pledged on Saturday that the government would keep acting as a shield against imported pressures, promising a “responsible but generous” budget.
The Budget 2027 address is expected to run around 90 minutes, roughly an hour shorter than last year’s two-and-a-half-hour speech. His Budget 2023 address lasted almost three hours.
