Competition authority unknown to most Maltese

The Maltese are the least likely to have ever heard of a decision taken in their country against a company by a competition authority. Only 18% of the Maltese have ever heard of such a case.  

This emerges in a recently published Eurobarometer survey conducted in all 28 EU members.

Moreover only 12% of Maltese, compared to 40% of Europeans, would take their case to the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority.

Respondents in the Czech Republic (64%), Germany (63%) and Finland (62%) are most likely to say that they have heard of a competition-related decision, having been taken by a competition authority against a company, and in the Czech Republic and Germany, a high proportion say that they have heard of this happening more than once (49% and 47% respectively).

Apart from Malta those least likely to have heard of any such cases were respondents in Bulgaria (24%) and Cyprus (26%).

Yet the Maltese are firmer believers in the benefits of competition than other EU citizens.

64% of Maltese compared to 44% of Europeans believe that competition brings a decrease in prices. But the percentage of Maltese who believe that competition brings about lower prices has declined from 73% in 2009.

In the EU as a whole, respondents in this survey are more likely to disagree that competition allows for better prices than they were in 2009. 

The largest rises in disagreement are seen in the Czech Republic (+13 pp), Lithuania (+9 pp), Malta (+9 pp), Greece (+9 pp), Slovakia (+8 pp), Austria (+8 pp), the Netherlands (+8 pp) and Germany (+8 pp).

Respondents in Croatia (29%), Belgium (28%), Spain (28%) and Malta (25%) are most likely to say that they have experienced a lack of competition that resulted in a problem in the telecommunications and Internet sector. The lowest figures can be found in Estonia (10%) and the United Kingdom (11%).