The Minister of Finance has been working relentlessly on what will be published in a few months time - the budget. A pre-budget document was presented which underlines the main objectives. Together with the three central elements, growth, jobs and social cohesion, it also contains updates on developments in our economy. We are told that although there seem to be signs of stabilisation, the conditions are still delicate. Our country has been hit by this recession but not as much as other member states; our economy was able to buffer the effect better.
Tourism has been affected by the turmoil and consequently this is leaving a dire effect on our economy. While in the first months tourist arrivals declined, so did those from cruise liners as well as tourist expenditure. This is more evident when looking at statistics of tourists from the United Kingdom, which declined in particular in the first six months of this year, also owing to the weak pound.
With all this economic turmoil, our Minister Tonio Fenech has had to craft a plan that deals with the crisis, while safeguarding jobs and keeping our country competitive. Our national competitiveness is established by an array of factors, primarily by the state of our physical, social and cultural environment as well as our national institutions and particularly by the type and quality of our labour supply. We must remain competitive to ensure a stable economy that thrives. Thankfully, we are also able to use structures within the EU to help us.
The EU plan aims to boost demand, save jobs and help restore confidence in the aftermath of the global credit crunch, which analysts say has pushed the world's biggest economic bloc into a prolonged downturn, with unemployment predicted to rise by 2.7 million over the next year and a half. The commission is urging governments to coordinate their responses in order to swiftly stimulate demand and boost consumer confidence, safeguard the most vulnerable members of society and help transform the EU into a low-carbon economy.
And talking of jobs, the national effort within the job sector is matching that which is carried out on a European level through our work within the EPP. The European Employment Strategy has been developed in order to encourage exchange of information and joint discussions by all member states, thus trying to find solutions or best practices together which could help create more and better jobs in every member state.
I was able to witness first hand the demand and support provided by the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, of which I was the EPP's spokesman. The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) supports workers who lose their jobs as a result of changing global trade patterns so that they can find another job as quickly as possible. A maximum amount of €500 million per year is available to the European Globalisation Fund to finance such interventions. This is one of the many structures within the EU that is helping in providing a cushion effect from the recession, as well as safeguarding jobs, or reintegrating those made redundant. The top requirement is investment in human capital in order to establish a well-trained and highly motivated work force.
I once read that pessimists consider a difficulty in opportunity, while optimists see an opportunity in a difficulty. Within the context of the current turmoil and uncertainty, Minister Fenech has crafted a plan of action that can change current difficulties into future opportunities that would strengthen our economic base. This would then in turn contribute to increased growth and more importantly to better paid jobs and more jobs. It is important to highlight that the minister has a great deal to deal with, and he is managing to take vital decisions during exceptional times.
With this pre-budget document, we can already see elements of our economic resilience. Although affected by the recession, we are still moving forward. We must do our part during these exceptional times, facing the bleak reality, in search of exploiting every single opportunity.
This article was written by David Casa and published on The Times on Thursday 13th August 2009.
