The country’s well-being is gauged by its economic strength, and this strength is normally measured on employment statistics and investment, be it local or foreign. The country moves forward if businessmen have enough confidence in it to invest their money to create jobs and lead to a healthy economic situation.

The years leading up to Malta’s European Union membership were years in which the political struggle between the two major parties – who held diametrically opposing views on the issue – pushed the government to concentrate more on achieving its declared objective, rather than focus on economic growth.

With the Malta Labour Party pushing for a partnership deal with the EU and with the world economy negatively hit by the terrorist attacks on the United States in 2001, the government chose to work hard to get Malta into the EU, and face the consequences later. In fact, once the EU target was reached, it was quickly realised that Malta’s economic situation had suffered because of the long and hard-fought political battle.

Yet, with Malta finally becoming part of the EU, and the chapter closed, the government could then turn its sights on the pressing economic issues. The first months, possibly a year or two, after membership, were not an easy time for the country. Some tough decisions needed to be taken and the government, now led by Lawrence Gonzi who had in the meantime replaced Eddie Fenech Adami as Prime Minister and Nationalist Party leader, was not afraid to take them.

The sacrifices that were made soon gave their fruit, as within a short period of time Malta turned the corner. In economic terms, the country registered enough progress and reached other difficult targets to get the green light to join the eurozone – doing this in spite of the turmoil created by the rise in the price of oil, and more recently the rise in the price of cereals.

Added to this, the government was in a position to present two successive budgets with no new taxes being introduced and at the same time ease the financial burdens on workers and their families, giving them more spending power. The more money people have in their pockets, the more they will spend, and the more the economy grows and prospers.

Today, we have reached a situation in which the number of people in employment has never been so high, the number of people looking for a job is the lowest in at least a decade, and foreign investment is flourishing, with more on the horizon.

The country is also undergoing a transformation in the industrial sector. It is moving away from the low-end manufacturing type of industry to the high-value sector. Call centres have mushroomed over the past years, while the IT and pharmaceutical areas have developed to quickly become one of the pillars of the country’s economy.

The fact that Malta is now part of the eurozone helps the country’s image, and is an added incentive for businessmen wanting to set up shop in Malta. No doubt, the government’s plans for Malta to adopt the euro as its currency was one of the factors that, for example, pushed Tecom Investments to choose this country for its investment in SmartCity.

This investment will, on its own, create some 5,600 jobs, many of which will be in the IT sector.

This transformation is by no means complete, and the country must still work hard to be able to remain competitive. But the success that has been achieved over the past few years augurs well for the near future if the momentum will be maintained.