Is the EU an institution that receives complaints against the member states from the public?

The EU is not a Court of Appeal that receives complaints from the public on matters that happen locally and are purely locally. This because matters that fall within the competence of the member states cannot be dealt with at EU level. Thus the EU cannot deal with complaints against the Police or against the injustices alleged to be committed by the local law courts, the civil service and so on. For such complaints one has to resort to local remedies. On the other hand the EU does receive complaints about the wrong application of EU law in the Member State and the Commission on behalf of the EU has discretion whether to investigate the matter. Nevertheless the individual always have the right to enforce his rights under EU law in the local courts.

Maltese courts have jurisdiction to enforce EU law on behalf of private citizens and there is no need for individuals to go to the European Court in Luxembourg. In case of doubt about the interpretation of an EU legal provision, in some cases, Maltese courts are bound to refer the issue of interpretation of such provision to the European Court and they would be in breach themselves if they fail to do so.