The EU statistics office recently published a set of statistical articles on the Europe 2020 strategy, which is the European Union’s agenda for jobs and growth for the current decade. The Eurostat offers an analysis of Malta as of 2017.

Malta met its primary energy consumption target of 0.7 million tonnes of oil equivalent (toe) in 2016. One toe is the amount of energy released when burning one tonne of crude oil. It approximately equals 42 gigajoules or 11,630 kilowatt-hours.

Additionally, Malta increased its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in non-ETS sectors by 20.3%, significantly exceeding its Europe 2020 target of limiting such emissions increase to 5%. Non-ETS emissions include transport, agriculture, waste and industrial emissions outside the European Union’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) and the municipal and housing sector with buildings, small sources, households and services.

The number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion in Malta increased by 4.9% between 2008 and 2016, which the Eurostat says has moved the island nation further away from its Europe 2020 goal.

Malta’s steady employment rate increase since 2014, however, helped the island nation reach its respective Europe 2020 target in 2017, the Eurostat publication says.

Due to continuous increases in the share of the 30-34 age group with tertiary education 2008 and 2017, Malta has come within 3 percentage points of its national target by 2020. Nevertheless, a significant drop in the share of early leavers from education and training since 2008 to 2016, Malta had further to go to reach its national 2020 target, when compared to other member states.

Europe 2020 emphasises smart, sustainable and inclusive growth as a way to strengthen the EU economy and prepare its structure for the challenges of the next decade, the Eurostat says in its publication. The strategy aims to drive high levels of employment, productivity and social cohesion in EU member states while also reducing the impact on the natural environment, the publication adds.

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In the European Union, slightly more than half (51%) of the enterprises with ten or more employees reported about innovation activities during the period 2014-2016, just a bit more than in the preceding period of 2012-2014 (49%), the press statement by the Eurostat says.

During the period of 2014-2016, the highest proportion of enterprises with innovation activity were recorded in Belgium (68%), Portugal (67%), Finland (65%), Luxembourg (64%) and Germany (64%). The low-performers included Hungary (29%), Bulgaria (27%), Poland (22%) and Romania (10%).

The Community Innovation Survey 2016, published by the Eurostat in March 2018, contains a broad set of indicators on innovation activities of enterprises.

Businesses spend €192.8m on innovation in 2016

In 2016, technological innovation expenditure reached an estimated €192.8m, according to data published by the Maltese National Statistics Office (NSO) at the end of September 2018.

Some 66.6% (€128.4m) of this was spent on acquiring machinery and equipment, which was followed by 16.8% (€32.4m) being spent on intramural research and development.

Between 2014 and 2016, some 27.1% (511) of the total enterprises employing a staff of at least ten engaged in innovation activities, NSO figures reveal.

“Results show that 85 enterprises were engaged solely in technological innovation, 148 enterprises were engaged in non-technological innovation and the remaining 278 were involved in both technological and non-technological innovation,” the NSO says in its release published in September.

NSO also found that 9% of all technologically innovative enterprises believe that cooperation agreements with suppliers of equipment, materials, components or software are highly crucial in boosting innovation.

“Low demand for innovations in the market and no need to innovate due to previous innovations were the two main obstacles which hindered non-innovative enterprises from engaging in innovative activities,” the NSO says in its earlier report.

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