European Commission closes infringement proceeding against Malta

The Euopean Union’s College of Commissioners has adopted a formal decision to close another infringement proceeding against Malta, according the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM).

The infringement proceeding was opened in 2012 following complaints to the Commission by EU citizens living in Malta who claimed that they were paying ‘domestic rates’ instead of ‘residential rate’ for water and electricity. Domestic rates are roughly 30% higher than residential rates.

The Commission claimed that, while the residential tariff was universally applied to Maltese citizens by the simple submission of a copy of their identity card, this was not the case for EU citizen who were required to comply with various administrative formalities.

The Commission informed the Maltese authorities that the application process needed to be streamlined, whilst providing redress to the applicants that may have been adversely affected throughout the years.

“The European Union’s latest published Single Market Scoreboard report shows that Malta has a remarkable record in complying with Union legislation. In fact, Malta has closed a total of 14 infringement proceedings since the beginning of this year,” read an ODPM statement.

Deputy Prime Minister Louis Grech said the government will continue to work hard to transpose effectively and in a timely manner the few pending infringement proceedings opened against Malta.