The PN said that despite all of its warnings about the government's economic direction and lack of foresight, Malta is now on the brink of facing excessive deficit procedures by the EU.

PN Secretary General Michael Piccinino and PN MP Jerome Caruana Cilia pointed out that such a situation is not good for future investment and an urgent change in economic policy is needed.

Piccinino said that the Malta's financial policy "had, and has, the fingerprints of Clyde Caruana all over it" and that the country cannot keep going in this economic direction. He stressed that the PN has been saying it for a long time and now even constituted bodies are saying it.

Piccinino said that Finance Minister Clyde Caruana had, prior to the Budget, said that a new economic model was needed, but during the Budget itself did not say anything further. He added that Caruana has once again said that there is need of a change in economic direction, recently, in a Times of Malta interview.

Piccinino said that Caruana was the mastermind behind JobsPlus, and so oversaw that the economy grow with the population, but, upon becoming Minister for Finance, is directly responsible for the economy. He pointed out that the European Commission had issued Malta a warning that in a few weeks it would begin with an excessive deficit procedure and that, furthermore, the PN had been warning of this risk for years and for the Labour government to cease squandering money on corruption, giving it to ‘friends of friends' or mismanaging it.

Piccinino said that to take things in perspective, Malta had accumulated a debt of €5 billion previously in its 55 years of sovereignty under governments of both parties. He went on to say that since then, €5 billion were further accumulated and there are no finished projects to show for it, except those funded by the EU. He said that the Prime Minister, Robert Abela, must finally heed their warnings, change economic direction and end the funding of corruption.

Piccinino stressed that it was Caruana and Abela who created this problem with their policies and mismanagement, and so it must be them who will solve it without throwing it onto the people who are innocent.

On his part, Caruana Cilia said that in 2019, the national debt was €5.7 billion and since then, Abela raised it to €10 billion and over.

Caruana Cilia explained that 43% of the debt of the country is due to Abela. He also said that the interest on this debt is rising and at the start of every week, Abela and Caruana must put aside around €5 million in debt weekly.

Caruana Cilia said that the PN is concerned since the country's stability is the precursor for more investment and added that many other entities are currently concerned. He said that the PN has long been talking about the government's current economic policy of growth with population and labour-intensive jobs as it has great repercussions on the quality of life of the Maltese.

Caruana Cilia recommended that serious investment in industry verticals and new niches are needed and pointed out that the PN is not inventing the wheel. He directly addressed Caruana in saying, "The time for talk is over, take action as soon as possible."

On another note, Caruana Cilia said that he had personally filed 300 Parliamentary Questions on direct orders, as well as about details about the millions spent on Vitals, which all the cabinet ministers refused to answer or gave unsatisfactory responses. He said that this is the taxpayer's money and they should know where their money is going.

In conclusion, Caruana Cilia said: "All this debt is a weight on our children," and said that the culture of ‘pigging out' remains. He went on to say that it is ethical and morally right for Abela and Caruana to ensure that what was stolen from the people is returned.

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