The European Commission has published the consumer prices of petroleum products inclusive of duties and taxes as of Monday, October 19.

According to these prices, there are 24 EU member states where the price of diesel is lower than in Malta. The weighted average price of diesel in the euro area is €1.136 per litre – 12 cents less than in Malta.

The price of petrol is lower than in Malta in 20 member states. The weighted average of the 28 member states is €1.33per litre, that is €0.2 less thanin Malta.

The Prime Minister claims that he and his government are pro-business, and boasts that they are in favour of public-private partnerships.

In the fuel sector, this policy does not seem to be implemented. Why does this government continue to keep the state-owned company, Enemed, in a dominant position in the market?

The Malta Automobile Club maintains that the importation, the storage and the sale of petrol and diesel should not be government business.

It is useless for the Energy Minister to claim that the market is liberalised, when the government announces reductions in the prices of petrol and diesel before Enemed’s calls for tenders and contracts close.

Why has it taken the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority so many months to conclude and publish its investigation into the Rabat case of lowering and increasing fuel prices under pressure of one of the diesel suppliers? It is evident that the MCCAA is toothless when it comes to actions by a State-owned company.

Maltese consumers are not interested in so-called “stability”. They are solely interested in paying cheaper prices of petrol and diesel whenever the international fuel prices go down, and are not kept artificially higher on the excuse of “stability”.