The European Commission has asked Malta to change the rules regarding public transport fares to show that there is no bias towards Maltese citizens in respect of their EU counterparts, this being based on “indirect discrimination concerning nationality of EU citizens who have used their right to move and reside freely within the Union, and, where applicable, their right to receive services, right to free movement of persons and right to free movement of capital under the EU Treaty”.

In its communication, the Commission further stated: “We told Malta that this refers particularly to tourists, non-resident house owners who reside either temporarily or irregularly in Malta or have not yet managed to acquire Maltese residency.”

In his reaction to this, Transport Minister Austin Gatt said that he had received “contrasting legal advice”.

My concern is: has the Director for Citizenship and Expatriate Affairs received the same advice as the Transport Minister, which appears to be incorrect, especially when this is based on any EU citizen staying longer than 90 days and that it is therefore compulsory for the e-registration being an EU requirement. (I refer here to the letter by Andrea Carlton, which was appeared on The Times on February 6).

Surely, it is now up to a responsible government to, at least, decide to postpone the matter of the issue of these new e-residence registration cards until such a time as clarification is resolved from the EU.

After all, it wasn’t too long ago that the Government was rebuffed over their expectation of EU funds for these ID cards.