Malta will introduce an amnesty mechanism for people who received fines for breaching COVID-19 restrictions, Prime Minister Robert Abela pledged, also revealing plans to introduce a “multi-million” snap budget to address an incoming economic downturn.

Speaking on One, Abela revealed that the budget will give Malta much-need boost and will prioritise those who are ready to invest. The proposals will be presented in Parliament on Monday 8th June.

“The budget will have incentives that this country has never seen,” Abela promised.

Abela revealed the budget plans during a series of announcements related to COVID-19, which included the opening of airports and ports and amnesty for some who received COVID-19 related fines.

“There were some episodes of disobedience, but the majority of people followed the measures. There were many who got fines because of lack of attention not because they’re some kind of criminals. I want to make sure they can address these fines through an amnesty mechanism,” he said.

The amnesty is not a carte blanche for COVID-19 fines, with Abela referencing incidents when groups got fined for going to the cemetery to visit a loved one.

Abela insisted that people should not go “overboard” with the lifting of measures. He also stressed that incidents like the one in Floriana will not be tolerated.

“I could have been political and spoken about the PN figure who was at the celebrations,” Abela said.