There will not be any blanket cut on the government expenditure, Economy Minister Silvio Schembri said.

Projects which are necessary and those funded by the European Union will continue, but other projects which could wait will be postponed until a later date, he told journalists.

The Finance Minister has not talked about reducing expenditure on what is deemed to be investment

Asked regarding the possibility of postponing the building of the new ITS campus, the minister said that such a decision does not fall under his responsibility as “I am not involved in certain discussions”.

He said it was not a question of by how much the expenditure will be cut. It's a question of doing what is necessary but leaving what can wait for a later date, he said.

Late last July, ministers were told that they must find a way to cut budgetary funds by €200 million across many of the government systems, so as to allow the government to continue funding the energy sector. The costs of energy have multiplied in the last months but no tariffs were increased, as the government chose to take on the whole burden.

Schembri said that the government is being more attentive to where it invests “its funds”, especially when it comes to electricity, where Malta has already invested millions of euros in energy subsidies.

Asked about testimony given in court that a minister had put pressure for some people to pass the thoretical part of a driving test, Schembri denied any involvement in the case but said that there is nothing wrong in the government being close to the people. He said that his ministry has a customer service which aims to help people resolve issues that are important to them.

Schembri denied ever helping someone pass a certain driving exam and said that “it is not a question of sending people "there and here”, but it is important for the government to have a customer care service which is close to consistuents and people.

He said everyone should wait for the court procedures to continue before passing judgment.