'TCNs will not disappear from Malta,' finance minister clarifies

Third-country nationals (TCNs) will not disappear from Malta after the punitive measures announced in Budget 2027, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana clarified.

Caruana was speaking alongside the PN’s spokesperson for finance, Adrian Delia during TVM’s XTRA hosted by Saviour Balzan three days after he delivered his budget speech.

The TCN-targetting measures drew criticism from NGOs, employers, and unions, including the General Workers’ Union who described such measures as “purely populist.”

On Thursday, Caruana insisted that the measures were necessary and “a long time coming.” He pointed toward previous statements he made, such as the warning that Malta’s population could reach 800,000 by 2040 if the current growth rate doesn’t change. 

“Now we’ve started to address this,” he added. 

“The market is made up of supply and demand. The market is influenced by prices, which in this case is wages. I’m certain that through these measures, the price will be influenced directly or indirectly. As an economist I’m convinced that this mechanism will start working in the months to come. And if we want to control the population, this is a step in the right direction,” he explained.

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During the programme, Adrian Delia questioned how the measures fit into Prime Minister Robert Abela’s previous statement where he said that maintaining population growth of 14,000 people per year is sustainable for Malta.

Delia insisted that the measures are not the way forward when it comes to addressing overpopulation.

Asked how such statements can be squared with the measures, Caruana clarified that there is a demand for the non-EU workers already living in Malta. The measures, he explained will address the demand for future TCNs.

Delia further criticised Budget 2027’s lack of solutions when it comes to Malta’s traffic crisis, stating that as time passes, cars keep piling up on the country’s roads. He insisted that the solution to the traffic problem lies in a mass transport system.

On transport, Caruana reminded that Sustainable Transport Minister Chris Bonett is still in talks with ARUP over the studies on the mass transport system.

Caruana said he himself is in talks with the World Bank and the IMF, with whom he is discussing the project. The World Bank, Caruana said, will advise government on the feasibility of any proposed mass transport system, while the IMF will assess how such a project can impact Malta on a macroeconomic level.