The government will be doing everything possible to safeguard the Maltese economy from any shocks caused by the Ukraine-Russia crisis, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana said Wednesday.

The government had already allocated millions to absorb the increase in prices of food and energy as a result of the war, but this newsroom asked whether this was enough given the escalating conflict.

Caruana said this is a very serious issue that people are worried about. Quoting former European Central Bank governor Mario Draghi, Caruana said “we have to do whatever it takes to help our economy. I really mean it.”

“We did all we could during the pandemic to save the economy, and we were successful. We now have more jobs than before, and less unemployment. But we cannot now let the impact of this unfortunate war damage our economy.”

Caruana said the war is now not only about bombs falling “but it is also becoming an economic war.”

“It is clear that the West is responding by not buying Russian oil and other sanctions. There will probably be a retaliation by the other side. This is leading to significant price increases, including oil, which us nearing $130 a barrel.”

“We have not seen anything like this since 2008. This means that there will eventually be shocks in the supply chain. The government must do all that is possible to absorb these shocks because other countries will not be doing so. We must be wise with our finances so that we can help the country in the best way possible.”

This is a very serious situation and people are worried, Caruana said. “What I can promise is that I will do whatever it takes to help people and rescue the economy from all shocks it may experience.”