European expats yesterday presented a petition to the Prime Minister demanding they must be treated equally to the Maltese and that they stop being treated like cash cows.
“As an EU national I am tired of being seen as a cash cow. My euro is earned exactly the same way as a Maltese euro. There is no difference,” said Scottish-born Patricia Graham as she stood outside Auberge de Castille in Valletta, wearing a badge bearing the image of a cow.
What’s going on right now is beyond ridiculous
Ms Graham, who has been living in Malta for five years with her family, held a copy of a petition signed by 1,120 people calling for an end to “ongoing discrimination” against them.
The petition says the Government remained silent despite the fact that EU nationals living in Malta were being discriminated against by being charged between 35 and 60 per cent more than their Maltese neighbours for several basic services.
These services included car registration, home loans, television and internet services and e-residence cards but the hottest issues remained energy bills and bus fares.
Electricity pricing regulations divide household electricity use into two separate bands: a ‘residential’ tariff for the primary home of Maltese citizens and a ‘domestic’ tariff, which is 30 per cent higher, reserved for second homes and non-residents.
Water prices also vary. While consumers on residential tariffs are charged €1.47 per cubic metre of water, those on domestic tariffs pay €2.30.
Last December, several EU citizens living in Malta filed a class action lawsuit claiming utilities billing company ARMS was being discriminatory by making it inordinately difficult for them to benefit from residential rates.
In February, a group of EU citizens filed a constitutional case contesting the discriminatory utility bills’ pricing legislation.
The bus fare controversy emerged when Arriva began operating the public transport system in July 2011 and introduced a two-tier fare.
Passengers with official proof of residency were entitled to cheaper fares than those without. The previous government insisted this was permitted by EU legislation as the distinction was based on residency and not nationality.
The European Commission launched formal legal proceedings against Malta because of its bus fares in February.
Another obstacle faced by foreigners is the e-residence card.
The Department for Citizenship and Expatriate Affairs is in the process of replacing ID cards for non-Maltese nationals with e-residence cards.
This set in motion a complex bureaucratic process many have complained about.
“What’s going on right now is beyond ridiculous. We want to be listened to and acknowledged as living here.
“This is my home. My children live and go to school here. We buy from the local Maltese stores. But we’re being ignored,” Ms Graham said.