Malta has maintained its first place in the 24th edition of the Internal Market Scoreboard issued by the European Commission within its 'Annual governance check-up 2011' report.

This is the seventh consecutive time that Malta placed first in the scoreboard, issued twice a year.

The scoreboard benchmarks member states' efforts in the implementation of internal market law by recording the transposition deficit, which is the gap between the number of internal market laws adopted at EU level and those in force.

The Scoreboard also describes Malta, together with Cyprus, as the "member states with the best compliance deficit." This concerns the correct transposition of EU directives, an essential element in ensuring that citizens and businesses are able to benefit from the full potential of the internal market.

Malta's permanent representative to the EU, Ambassador Richard Cachia Caruana, welcomed this recognition of Malta's commitment to ensuring the fullest possible access to the opportunities available in the EU's Single Market, stating that "this report is a testament to the hard work carried out by government officials and others to ensure that Maltese citizens are able to fully benefit from the opportunities of the single market."