Cap. 534 Art. 2Interpretation.

(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires -

"1997 Excessive Deficit Regulation" means Council Regulation

(EC) No. 1467/97 of 7 July 1997 as amended by Council Regulation (EC) No. 1056/2005 of 27 June 2005 and Council Regulation (EU) No. 1177/2011 of 8 November 2011;

"1997 Surveillance and Coordination Regulation" means Council Regulation (EC) No. 1466/97 of 7 July 1997, as amended by Council Regulation (EC) No. 1055/2005 of 27 June 2005 and Regulation (EU) No. 1175/2011 of 16 November 2011; "2009 Regulation" means Council Regulation (EC) No. 479/2009 of 25 May 2009, as amended by Council Regulation (EU) No. 679/ 2010 of 26 July 2010;

"2013 Regulation" means Regulation (EU) No. 473/2013 of 21 May 2013;

"annual structural balance of the general government", in relation to a year, means the general government deficit or general government surplus for the year, cyclically adjusted and net of one-off and temporary measures, expressed as a percentage of gross domestic product at market prices;

"Budget" means the budgetary estimates, presented to the House of Representatives in respect of any financial year, of the expenditure and revenue for the service of that financial year and includes any supplementary estimates of expenditure for which it may be necessary to provide after the estimates have been presented to the House of Representatives; "budgetary rule" shall be construed in accordance with article 8;

"cyclically-adjusted" means adjusted to take account of effects estimated to be due to the operation of the economic cycle;

"European System of Accounts" means the European system of national and regional accounts in the Community as provided for under Council Regulation (EC) No. 2223/96 of 25 June 1996, as it has effect as amended from time to time; "exceptional circumstances" means: meaning of the Stability and Growth Pact;

"fiscal stance" means the change in the annual structural balance of the general government, excluding interest payments on the general government debt expressed as a percentage of gross domestic product at market prices, for a year relative to the preceding year;

"general government", in relation to the State, shall be construed in accordance with the European System of Accounts;

"general government debt", in relation to a year, means the total gross debt at nominal value of the general government of the State which is outstanding at the end of the year, as arrived at in accordance with the 2009 Regulation; "general government deficit", in relation to a year, means the net borrowing of the general government of the State for the year, as arrived at in accordance with the 2009 Regulation;

"general government surplus", in relation to a year, means the net lending of the general government of the State for the year, as arrived at in accordance with the 2009 Regulation; "Government" means the Government of Malta unless otherwise specified; "gross domestic product at market prices", in relation to a year, means gross domestic product of the State for the year at market prices, as arrived at in accordance with the European System of Accounts;

"House of Representatives" has the meaning as it has for the purposes of the Constitution of Malta;

"Malta" has the same meaning as is assigned to it by article 124 of the Constitution of Malta;

"medium-term budgetary objective" means the medium-term budgetary objective required by the Council Regulation (EC) No. 1466/97; "Minister" means the Minister responsible for Finance;

"National Audit Office" means the National Audit Office set up by article 108 of the Constitution;

"official forecasts" means the macroeconomic and budgetary forecasts published by the Ministry for Finance for the purposes of fiscal planning; "Stability and Growth Pact" means the Council Regulation (EC) No. 1466/97, the Council Regulation (EC) No. 1467/97 and the Resolution of the European Council of 17 June 1997 on the Stability and Growth Pact;

"stability programme" means the stability programme required by Article 3(1) of the Council Regulation (EC) No. 1466/97;

(2) A word or expression used in this Act and in the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance has, unless the contrary intention appears, the same meaning in this Act as in the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance.

Fiscal Responsibility