The European Commission is seriously considering launching an inquiry into whether competition rules are being observed in the retail sector. Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia is toying with this idea given the record inflation levels in many European countries.

Had the idea of such a probe been voiced locally, I am sure that some of the usual suspects would have cried wolf and accused those advocating this idea of being some sort of covert interventionists.

The European Commission is being pushed to consider this option following pressure by the European Parliament. In its role as antitrust authority, the Commission has already launched inquiries into financial services, telecommunications and energy, finding quite a number of cases of collusion.

Some are of the opinion that, since statistics show that in Malta prices have remained somewhat stable during the first quarter, we should not be too worried about inflation. I beg to differ. Right until the end of March, the impending issue in the retail supply chain was the price freeze agreement between the government and the main importers. We will have a better idea of where we stand in some months' time.


On a similar note, I welcome the decision by the Office of Fair Competition to launch an inquiry into the schools uniforms' market.

Actually, I wonder why such a probe was not launched earlier.

Needless to say, I do not think that the issue surfaced just after the recent general election.


An International Herald Tribune report on the Indian reaction to accusations on rising food prices made interesting reading.

The White House zeroed in on India and its rising middle classes and blamed them for the rise in international food prices. They stated that this new-found prosperity is leading to an increase in demand and thus an increase in prices.

The Indian reaction to all this was plain and simple: "Go on a diet!"

According to the IHT, the mainstream reaction in India is that nobody from the West should think that s/he deserves to eat more than an Indian.

According to Pradeep Metha, secretary general of the Centre for International Trade, Economics and Environment, the real culprits are the Americans. To substantiate his argument, he states that the average American eats 50 per cent more calories than the average Indian.

"If Americans were to slim down to even the middle-class weight in India, many hungry people in sub-Saharan Africa would find food on their plates," Mr Mehta said. He added that the money Americans spend on liposuction to get rid of their excess fat could be funnelled to famine victims instead.

I could not resist smiling but, then again, it is quite a sound argument.


Silvio Berlusconi's government is moving ahead with the plans to rescue Alitalia despite the doubts as to whether the loan that has been granted to the national carrier conforms to EU rules.

Brussels is expecting the Italian government to give full details about the transaction by the end of the month. The €300 million that have been loaned are providing yet another life-line to the troubled company.

While Mr Berlusconi is rushing to find a private sector solution to this problem, he has not shied away from taking the necessary actions to protect national interest in the form of a company with such an important function.


It seems Michael Moore is set to give George W. Bush a parting gift in the form of a sequel to Fahrenheit 9/11.

The yet unnamed project will pick up from where Fahrenheit left off and will continue to focus on the war in Iraq. Since the first movie, the popularity of the President sank to abysmal lows and the Democrats are actively challenging the White House's policy on the issue.

Even though it has been reported that the movie might be released this time next year, many believe that Mr Moore will not resist trying to take it to the theatres much earlier. This would allow him to play a part in the November Presidential elections.

Dr Muscat is a Labour member of the European Parliament and vice president of the economic and monetary affairs committee.

www.josephmuscat.com

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.