National recovery and resilience plan : Malta

Abstract

The RRP provided the new Prime Minister with an opportunity to demonstrate his commitment to tackling the major challenges faced by Malta, including the environment and the rule of law. While Malta’s RRP focuses primarily on the green transition, followed by digitalisation, it also contains measures intended to strengthen the health care system, enhance education and socioeconomic sustainability, and reinforce the country’s institutional framework. The plan was judged positively by the European Commission and the Council of the European Union. While seeking to address the Country-Specific Recommendations of 2019 and 2020, the plan also tackles several aspects listed in the European Pillar of Social Rights and the Social Scoreboard. The RRP is meant to be viewed as part of a larger strategy that includes the Multiannual Financial Framework. While the RRP focuses on challenges that were already apparent during the European debt crisis, it is also aimed at tackling new challenges that have emerged over the past decade. The social partners have tended to be dissatisfied with their involvement in the RRP process. The RRP appears adequate to avoid a retrenchment of the social dimension, however, as it channels the country towards a more sustainable growth model.