WATCH | 'These measures don't distinguish between nationalities,' Rebecca Buttigieg says

Labour MP and former equality junior minister Rebecca Buttigieg believes the budget measures increasing financial burdens for third-country nationals don’t discriminate between workers’ nationalities. 

Buttigieg was responding to questions from MaltaToday following a press conference at PL HQ. She rejected the notion that such punitive measures foster a sense of discrimination against foreign workers from outside the EU.

She insisted that the distinction hinges on how long someone contributes to the economy. “I always believed in the politics of integration,” she said, adding that the idea of long-term residence promotes integration through education on Maltese language and culture.

Buttigieg was confronted with the fact that the measures against TCNs are against the very people who need benefits the most, as she was asked whether such measures are in touch with the PL’s values.

“The PL’s values are clear and unequivocal. We are there for everyone and this budget has a social spirit,” she said.

Challenged on the fact that the measures discriminate between EU nationals and those from outside the EU, Buttigieg shifted the blame on the EU.

Buttigieg listed similar measures from the UK and Ireland which tax TCNs, noting, “Malta didn’t invent the wheel.”