The European Commission has confirmed that on March 2 there were 16 EU member states where the price of unleaded petrol was cheaper than that in Malta.

In the case of diesel, the Commission’s Energy Policy Oil Bulletin shows that on March 2, there were 21 EU member states where the price was below that in Malta. As far as it is known, none of the prime ministers of these countries announced the price of petrol and diesel last weekend.

It is not the business of a government to import, store and sell petrol and diesel. If our government really believes in the participation of the private sector, it should not allow the State-owned company Enemed to crowd out the private sector.

When is Enemed going to start offering petrol at the same rate as Cyprus, to take just one example?

Is Enemed making a profit of 12c on petrol over and above the profit being made by the oil companies in Cyprus, where the price is €1.215?

Is Enemed making a profit of 27c on petrol over and above the profit being made by the oil companies in Latvia, where petrol sells for €1.075?

Is Enemed making a profit of 21c on diesel over and above the profit made by oil companies in Latvia, where diesel costs €1.062?

Why is Enemed failing to publish its tenders on the EU’s tenders electronic daily, TED, to fetch the best possible offers? Why does Enemed not publish the awards of its tenders on ED, as other EU member states do?

If the Ministry for Energy really has the interests of the Maltese consumers at heart, it should remove Enemed’s dominant position from the internal market and allow other major oil companies to compete on a level playing field.