Economic uncertainty in Malta declines despite election rumours 

Concerns that a lack of clarity about the general election date is fostering a climate of uncertainty among local businesses don’t seem to be backed up by data.

According to the European Commission’s latest Economic Uncertainty Indicator (EUI), economic uncertainty dropped by 19 percentage points in March after slightly rising by 5.7 points the previous month. 

This was an opposite trend to the EU as a whole, where economic uncertainty increased by 20 points. In fact, Malta and Croatia were the only two EU countries to register a decline in uncertainty. 

In Malta, uncertainty declined most significantly within the services industry, where it fell by 45.1 points. It also declined in the building (-6.8 points), industry (-16.3 points) and retail (-3.7 points), although it rose among consumers by 7.9 points.

Total economic sentiment for Malta is calculated at 114.8, which is 14.8 per cent higher than the historical average. 

This decline follows several months of registered uncertainty; the EUI shows that uncertainty in Malta increased every month in 2024 and 2025, except for December 2025. 

During this period of rising uncertainty, the Malta Chamber CEO Marthese Portelli had warned that persisent rumours of a snap election could prompt businesses to delay their investments, which may in turn slow economic momentum and innovation.

Introduced in 2021, the EUI captures perceived uncertainty by averaging responses from business managers and consumers to a question on how difficult it is to predict their future business or financial situation. 

Prime Minister Robert Abela yesterday confidently brushed off warnings by Opposition Leader Alex Borg that persistent election rumours are having a negative impact on businesses.

“Uncertainty only exists in the minds of those trying to create it,” he said.