The price of unleaded petrol in the United Kingdom dropped marginally below the price in Malta, according to the European Commission, and continues to drop further.
On January 5, the price of unleaded petrol in the UK was €1.419, according to the European Commission and Europe’s energy portal notes that the price in the UK had gone down to €1.403 at the time of writing (January 9).
According to the latest oil bulletin published by the European Commission, at €1.42 euro per litre, the price of unleaded petrol in Malta is higher than that of 24 EU member states: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK.
The only three countries where unleaded petrol is higher than in Malta are Greece, Italy and the Netherlands.
It is evident that the relevant authorities in Malta have taken the wrong decisions in the fuel market, whether willingly or unwillingly. Is it right for these authorities to negotiate the importation and the wholesale distribution of unleaded petrol for the whole of the country? The role of Enemed should be to compete against other private importers of fuel in Malta and to make sure there is an adequate supply.
It is not the business of the government in an EU member state to import and market fuel. This should be left in the hands of a number of private companies – as used to be the case until the mid-1970s – which compete on a level playing field.
The role of the government should be to ascertain that such companies are not taking advantage of consumers.
Who owns the oil storage facilities in Malta? Does such ownership by the government or Enemed Co. Ltd constitute an “abuse of dominant position” in contravention of article 9 of the Competitions Act, Chapter 379 of the Laws of Malta, and article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)?
Since EU accession in 2004, Malta made less progress in the fuel market than the central European countries.
In Romania, for example, where unleaded petrol sells at €1.136 per litre, one will find Socar, Mol and Rompetrol filling stations, among others. Last December, Socar opened the 31st filling station in Romania, providing A-95 and A-98 unleaded petrol and standard diesel ‘Euro-5’ and Super diesel.
The State oil company of the Azerbaijan Republic (Socar) was recently visited by the Maltese authorities. Has Socar been invited to supply fuel to local filling stations?
When will Maltese consumers be able to buy different brands of unleaded petrol and diesel?
Mol Group, headquartered in Budapest, Hungary, has almost 2,000 service stations across 11 countries. Last year, it purchased Eni’s wholesale business, under the Agip brand, in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania.
The 42 acquired service stations by Mol Romania will bring the total network to 189 stations. In 2003, Mol Romania acquired Shell Romania’s 23 filling stations, increasing the network from 50 to 73 at the time.
Rompetrol Group, which was established in Romania in 1974, has its headquarters in the Netherlands. In 2007, KazMunayGas (KMG) of Kazakhstan acquired 75 per cent of Rompetrol Group and the remaining 25 per cent in 2009.
Rompetrol filling stations in Romania form part of more than 1,000 such facilities in six European countries: Romania, Moldova, Bulgaria, France, Spain and Georgia.
When are Maltese consumers going to have the opportunity to purchase different brands of unleaded petrol and diesel?
What is the brand of diesel imported by Enemed and by the other local companies?
Where are the filling stations owned by the latter and is the price the same?
If the government and Enemed wish to compare prices with those of other countries they can consider Poland, where unleaded petrol is €0.954 per litre, or Cyprus, at €1.168 per litre, and not with Italy.
The Malta Automobile Club will continue to monitor the fuel market situation and has already contacted the director general for competition at the European Commission and the Petitions Committee of the European Parliament.