Budget 2020 heeds every need, Edward Scicluna says

The 2020 Budget heeds every need and call, no matter how small, Finance Minister Edward Scicluna said.

Addressing a press conference at Castille a day after his Budget speech, Scicluna said that the budget measures chosen were meticulously drawn up not just for their economic impact but for their social impact as well.

"The people want us to be generous with the needy, but also prudent to keep this rhythm going, so that we could guarantee another surplus," Scicluna said.

He argued that, this time, the government had paid attention to local challenges such as the need for green areas and addressing traffic congestion, which explained, he said, why this was a green budget. 

"People want the government to be on the ball and this Budget has proven that it is," Scicluna said.

He added that there were international challenges that Malta was also subject to, including the tariff war between the United States and China and the ubiquitous Brexit. 

Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne described the Budget as being pro-business, pro-environment and pro-employee and that such a generous Budget could only be possible because of the government's economic successes throughout the year. 

"This is a peace-of-mind Budget, a budget in favour of today's generation and tomorrow's and a reflection of the success of the last few years," he said.