No country will force Malta to invest in armaments or ammunition – Prime Minister

Kyle Patrick Camilleri



Sunday, 16 March 2025, 13:39
Last update: about 26 minutes ago

Prime Minister Robert Abela has said that no country or leader is going to force Malta to pay for armaments or to help other countries pay for defence investments.

He said that Malta already has written safeguards in place for the country’s stance to be respected.

During a political activity in Naxxar on Sunday morning, the Maltese Prime Minister told Labour Party supporters that with another European Council meeting scheduled for later this week, his priority lies in safeguarding the Maltese people and to help the Maltese islands.

Abela said that while “others” are focused on “looking good” abroad and are pushing for Maltese funds to go towards the purchase of foreign arms, the Maltese government wishes to invest in important local sectors, such as education, healthcare, and energy. In his discourse, the Prime Minister ascertained that Malta should never choose to invest in arms over investments that would directly benefit Maltese society.

“This will be my priority: not to look good to others or to safeguard my future, but to safeguard you, the people, and to help my country,” the Prime Minister said.

He noted that with Europe undergoing another period of instability, he will make sure to speak strongly during the European Council meeting commencing on Friday, 21 March.

Abela added that other countries are free to spend their own national funds as they please, though if Malta has millions of euros available for investment, which it does, then the Maltese government will use them to help Maltese families by supporting energy subsidies and other important sectors.

Abela observed that the country has a “great future ahead” through the government’s vision. Here, he referenced government desire to boost citizens’ quality life through measures, such as by increasing pensions and through its work to bolster healthcare services alongside private hospitals.

The Prime Minister said that Malta is enjoying the largest economic growth in the European Union while offering the lowest electricity bills in the bloc. He said that Malta’s “strong economic model” is attracting large companies to the islands, such as Lufthansa Technik, to create jobs via increasingly large deals. He observed that these investments are improving citizens’ quality of life in turn.

The Prime Minister also took aim at the Opposition, its financial policies, and its strategies to curb the government’s work through alleged attacks and legalisms.

Abela said that the Nationalist Party’s financial policies have not evolved since ex-Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi was in charge, over 12 years ago – despite PN losing the 2013 general election. He said this throughout his speech by referring to the present Opposition as “Gonzi-PN version two.”

The Prime Minister said that today’s economy is stronger than the one Gonzi left behind, and that this is indicative to the difference between the two major parties’ financial policies.

According to Abela, the PN thought that retaining energy subsidies on electricity bills would cripple the Maltese economy, especially through the periods of instability his administration has faced over the past five years.

Abela said that under former Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, 8,000 people were unemployed and that workers had public holiday leave “stolen” away from them, before being reinstated once PL came to power.

Additionally, he outlined that Malta’s debt-to-GDP ratio has improved under PL governments. He said that the level of national debt to total production has dropped from as much as around 70% of the national GDP to less than 50% of the national GDP today.

The Prime Minister also said that the Nationalist Party – which he said has become more “arrogant” – “strongly voted against the people’s interests” when it voted to raise taxes “significantly.”

Abela continued that the PN’s financial proposals are inferior to implemented government measures. He noted that “Gonzi-PN version two” voted against the “best budget in the history of our country,” Budget 2025, which he said incorporated the record increases to children’s allowances and the historic tax cuts.

The Prime Minister also alleged that the PN has used magisterial inquiries to their personal benefit, with the intention to “crucify individuals on baseless grounds.”

“Till a few months ago, they managed to invoke a sense of fear on who will next be attacked through judicial systems. They are focused on destroying individuals and sending people to prison,” the Prime Minister said about the Opposition.

Abela said that while inside Parliament, the Nationalist Party gives the government a “hard time” and barely lets its representatives speak, outside of the Chamber “they pretend to be paladins for the rule of law, and they attack magistrates who pass rulings that they disagree with.”

Here, Abela said that the PN would “pay heavily” for attacking two magistrates on “obscene lies” and said that it is because of these “abuses” that the government is reforming parts of the judicial system, such as the reform to magisterial inquiries.

Concluding his intervention, PM Abela said that “there is no place for politics of hatred in this country” and that such strategies should come to an end.

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