'Final formalities' in fuel liberalisation process

The government yesterday reacted to the EU's threat of legal action over its delay in liberalising fuel imports by saying it wanted to ensure the step would be beneficial to the consumer while safeguarding health and safety and taking the environment into consideration.

In an official statement, the government said it had never doubted the principle of fuel liberalisation.

However, it said that while in the Accession Treaty the projected date for the liberalisation had to be January 1 2006, "the government felt it should not sacrifice a wide process of consultation for a legal point".

A process of this sort takes time, it continued, and in this case it took longer than the treaty had anticipated.

"The process, in fact, has been concluded and what remains are the final formalities. The government would like to put everyone's mind at rest, especially that of the consumers and stakeholders in this sector, that the process is at an advanced stage and that it will be concluded in the near future," the government said.

The Accession Treaty laid down that the importation was to be fully liberalised by the beginning of this year. However, a few days before the deadline expired, the government had announced a delay of a further three months, to the end of March.

Despite several reminders by the Commission after that, Enemalta has remained the only company in Malta licensed to import fuel products.

A number of private companies, including international fuel giants such as Shell, have shown an interest in penetrating the Maltese market but have had to put their plans on hold until the authorities decide to lift the current monopoly. Under EU rules, owners of service stations should be allowed to import their own petrol, LRP and diesel.