The Malta Automobile Club has written to the European Commission to explore why EU infringement proceedings (article 226 of the EC Treaty) against Malta in connection with the monopoly on the importation, storage and wholesale of petroleum products was closed before Brussels took note of the implementation of the appropriate measures.

On December 18, 2007, the European Commission (Competition) closed the infringement procedure simply because the authorities in Malta put into place new procedures that allow market participants other than former state monopoly Enemalta to apply for licences.

Legal Notice 278 of 2007 and its related subsidiary legislation were published in October 2007. More recently, the Malta Resources Authority published a list of 15 companies – authorised providers operating as importer/wholesaler of petroleum – that, on paper, seem to be competing in the inland petroleum market. In reality, the majority of these companies are involved in oil bunkering services.

Contrary to the declaration by European Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes, Malta made no real “commitment to create a level playing field in this important market”. We had a classic confirmation of this a few weeks ago when a service station in Rabat was pressured not to sell diesel 2c below the price charged by all the other service stations in Malta.

State-owned Enemed Company Ltd still enjoys a dominant position in the market here. Is there any other EU country where the prices of petrol and diesel at all service stations are exactly the same?

Although Malta has given the impression that it created “a legal framework for granting licences for the import, storage and wholesale of petroleum products”, it does not mean that all those who might be interested to apply for a licence will get the relevant storage permits from the Malta Environment and Planning Authority.

Similarly, it does not mean that all those who applied for such a licence are satisfied that in Malta there is a level playing field.

According to the European Commission, Shell “did apply for a licence to import petroleum products into Malta and does currently hold such a licence”. This is not correct. It is unbelievable that the European Commission is misinformed. Shell is not on the list of providers of the MRA.

How is it possible that the European Commission cannot distinguish between what it calls “a foreign oil major” and a Maltese private company, which would be in a position to import the products of such a foreign company if Malta really had a level playing field?

In Malta, consumers do not even know what grade and brand of petrol they are purchasing.

Is it possible that the European Commission does not know that Shell petrol and diesel – as is the case with all other brands – are not available in Malta and have not been available for several years?

What is the Representation of the European Commission doing in Malta? Is it not its role to report back to the Commission in Brussels on important political, economic and social developments in Malta? When was the last time the officers of the European Commission Representation in Malta purchased Shell petrol or diesel for their official or private vehicles?

It is unbelievable that the European Commission is not aware that Enemed enjoys a dominant position in the market in Malta.

How is it possible that Brussels is not aware who is importing, storing and selling petrol in this country?

Given that Enemed is the only company in Malta that is importing petrol for the inland market, how can the European Commission justify the higher price of petrol here when compared to those of 20 other EU member states?

Is it not clear that Enemed has abused its dominant position in the sale of petrol in Malta by maintaining higher prices than the EU weighted average for a number of weeks and the prices of more than 20 EU countries?

Why does Enemed refuse to publish its tenders online, on the EU tenders electronic daily – TED? What further indications does the European Commission need?

Malta is not the only EU island State in the Mediterranean. Why has the European Commission failed to see the glaring difference between the petroleum market in Malta and that in Cyprus? In Cyprus, there are different brands and grades of petrol and diesel selling at different prices, including Agip, Esso, Eko, Staroil and others. There were times when petrol was selling 30c less than in Malta.

In this country, consumers do not even know what grade and brand of petrol they are purchasing.

The government claims it is not fixing the prices of petrol and diesel in Malta, as if it is not the major shareholder of Enemed. The MRA and the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority have done nothing to protect the rights of the consumers or to put an end to the discrimination that Maltese consumers are suffering in comparison to other EU citizens with regard to both choice and prices.

How can the government shed responsibility for fixing the prices of petrol and diesel when the Ministry for Energy issues press releases announcing the fuel prices and boasts on its own website about the first step being taken in a series of planned reductions in the prices of petrol and diesel?

It is the Ministry for Energy and not market forces that have such pre-determined plans for reductions when market prices might be increasing.

It is not the business of government to import, store and sell petroleum products in Malta but Enemed is crowding out the private sector. How can the government claim that it is open to the private sector when it allows a State-owned company to compete with the private sector from a dominant position?

The Malta Automobile Club is collecting further information on the non-liberalised inland petroleum market in Malta to submit a formal complain to the European Commission in terms of article 5 of Commission regulation 773/2004.

Concerned citizens and institutionsthat wish to support such a submission are invited to send a message to the club through its page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Malta-Automobile-Club/484683321570286 .

Alfred Farrugia is president of the Malta Automobile Club.