Watch: Over €20 Extra Per Week On Fuel? Robert Abela Reveals What Could Have Been
Average drivers would have ended up spending over €20 more on fuel every single week had the government not intervened to stabilise prices, Prime Minister Robert Abela revealed.
“I made a simple calculation today… had we not intervened, an average person who owns a small car would have had to spend around €20 more on fuel every week,” Abela told a press conference last weekend, describing the inflation crisis as a primary global and national challenge.
“Malta acted quickly to anticipate this phenomenon. We weren’t insensitive to this reality, we kept fuel and energy prices stable and provided other aid with regards to food inflation but there’s still a reality out there.”
“If you had to ask me whether I’m pleased that Malta has the EU’s lowest inflation rate, I’d say I’m not because people are still feeling the impact of rising food prices.”
“Right now we are trying to give people more money in their pockets so as to address this phenomenon.”
In the wake of soaring global energy costs, a crisis that has largely been attributed to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Maltese government has used hundreds of millions of public funds to absorb the inflation itself and keep electricity and fuel prices stable.
Subsidies have also been given to importers of cereals, flour and animal feed to promote price stability and food security.
Abela played down Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent claim that global inflation wasn’t the result of the Ukraine war but of Western countries “printing and distributing money and raiding all the goods in third-country markets for this money”.
“Global inflation is a reality and I believe it is a consequence of what is happening in Russia and Ukraine, including the sanctions, that have for one reason or other resulted in inflation in energy, fuel and food, and on a more serious level, food security concerns.”
How do you think the world can resolve the ongoing inflation crisis?
READ NEXT: 992 Ukrainian Refugees Are Currently Benefitting From Temporary Protection In Malta
