Malta Chamber calls for 'RESET and LEAD' with 150+ pre-budget proposals targeting structural reform

The Malta Chamber of Commerce has launched its Pre-Budget 2027 document under the banner RESET and LEAD, warning that the country has reached a point where incremental adjustments are no longer sufficient. The document contains over 150 proposals aimed at driving structural reform across the economy and institutions.

President William Spiteri Bailey said Malta needs the courage to reset what is not working and lead through the realities it faces. He pointed to infrastructure under pressure, weak productivity, persistent bureaucracy, energy dependence, and damaged trust in institutions as challenges that must be acknowledged before they can be fixed.

The Chamber linked Malta’s energy exposure directly to past policy choices, arguing that had subsidies been redirected toward renewables and storage, the country would be less exposed to international energy shocks. On the labour market, Spiteri Bailey called for a shift from volume to value, paired with a more efficient work permit system.

Governance was a central theme. Spiteri Bailey insisted that institutions exist to serve the people, not governments or political parties, and that regulators must regulate and courts must deliver justice within a reasonable time. Good governance is economic policy, he said, and trust has economic value.

CEO Dr Marthese Portelli presented the economic case for reform. Between 2015 and 2025, Malta’s Gross Value Added grew by 81.9%, but this was driven overwhelmingly by workforce expansion rather than productivity. Compensation growth has consistently outpaced labour productivity, and government debt has risen sharply since 2019 while productivity per person has remained flat.

Projections for 2026 show compensation rising 4.4% against productivity growth of just 0.1%, compared to an EU average of 1.0%. Portelli said the time for incremental adjustments has passed, noting that too many critical proposals from previous years remain unaddressed.

The proposals are organised into two sections. The first covers economic and sectoral priorities to be executed by end-2027, including taxation, human resources, technology and AI adoption, infrastructure, tourism, and state-induced market distortions. The second focuses on national and institutional reforms to be kickstarted in 2027, covering planning, transport, energy, waste, digital transformation, education, public procurement, pensions, and governance.

Spiteri Bailey framed the agenda as national rather than partisan. This is not a Labour position or a Nationalist position, he said. It must be Malta’s position.

For the business community, the message is clear: the Chamber is pushing for a fundamental shift in how the economy is managed, with an emphasis on productivity, governance, and execution. The question now is whether government will move from strategy to action.

The Chamber’s closing line was blunt: we have spoken about these things for long enough. Now we need the courage to reset, lead and, above all, execute.