Malta and Italy have signed a cooperation agreement for storage of crude oil and petroleum in case of supplies being cut off from outside the EU.

A 2006 EU directive obliges Malta to keep a level of crude oil and petroleum stored but the Maltese infrastructure is not enough to meet the EU’s demands and the agreement with Italy allows Malta to use Italy’s storage facilities.

The EU rules were introduced to cater for emergency scenarios involving wars or situations where fuel supplies are halted from outside the Union.

The government said in a statement that the supply of crude oil and petroleum products to the EU was of utmost importance in providing the bloc with supplies of energy.

Any disruption in the supply of such products imported from outside the EU, or a significant increase in their price on international markets, could upset its economy.

For this reason, it was crucial for all member states to ensure the availability of oil stocks and safeguard energy supply, the Resour­ces Ministry said.

The agreement was signed by Resources Minister George Pullicino and Senator Alfredo Mantica, Under Secretary at the Italian Foreign Affairs ministry.

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