Malta has no plans to stop charging different utility tariffs for residents and non-residents, insisting with Brussels that this is in line with EU rules.
European Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding told the European Parliament that “the Maltese authorities have changed their practice” but a government spokesman said that this was not the case.
Replying to a parliamentary question by Nationalist MEP Simon Busuttil, Ms Reding said that following correspondence with the Maltese government, ARMS Ltd – which is responsible for the tariff system – had changed its practice and “the Commission is analysing whether this new practice is in line with EU law”.
However, the government said the reply, which gave many foreign residents hope they would receive lower energy bills, was “a misunderstanding” and that “Malta has not changed its position”.
The government simply provided the Commission with clarifications on how the tariff system was applied and why it was fully compliant with EU rules.
“The eligibility for reduced utility tariffs is based on residency, not on citizenship,” the spokesman said.
“In fact,” he added, “Maltese citizens resident in Malta are eligible for residential tariffs for water and electricity in the same way as non-Maltese citizens resident in Malta are.”
According to the spokesman, the Commission’s reply must have confused the issue with a similar query about the island’s permanent residence scheme, which applied only until last year.
The utility tariffs issue has been dragging on for more than three years but the Commission has stopped short of opening an official infringement against Malta.
Foreign residents have complained vociferously of discrimination – claiming that they are being charged some 30 per cent more than their Maltese counterparts – and have presented various petitions to the European Parliament on the discrepancy.
While admitting there is a different pricing structure, the Maltese authorities have always insisted that all EU citizens residing in Malta, regardless of their nationality, have the right to lower residential tariffs.
The EU treaties do not allow discrimination on grounds of nationality, but do permit differences over residency.
ARMS argues that only residents contributing to the Maltese economy are entitled to benefit from subsidised utility rates.