According to figures published by the European Commission in its weekly oil bulletin for consumer prices of petroleum products net of duties and taxes, on March 27, petrol in Malta, selling at 56.079c per litre was the highest among the EU’s 28 member states.

The EU28 weighted average price of petrol, net of duties and taxes, stood is 49.476c per litre.

Is it possible for Enemed Company Limited to let us know where it is purchasing its petrol from, at what rate and how much profit it is making?

When will Enemed start posting its calls for tenders on the EU ‘tenders electronic daily’ (TED) online system, as other companies in other EU states regularly do?

For how long will Maltese consumers remain treated as second-class EU citizens?

Article 37 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union says: “Member states shall adjust any State monopoly of a commercial character so as to ensure that no discrimination regarding the conditions under which goods are procured and marketed exists between nationals of member states.

“The provisions of this article shall apply to any body through which a member State, in law or in fact, either directly or indirectly supervises, determines or appreciably influences imports or exports between member states. These provisions shall likewise apply to monopolies delegated by the State to others.”

The importation, storage and sale of petrol in Malta by Enemed is in clear breach of this article.

What brand of petrol are Maltese citizens purchasing? Enemed’s marketing is conspicuous by its absence. Why is the European Commission allowing this situation in Malta? Why did it close its infringement procedure more than nine years ago without waiting to see how the new legislation would be implemented?

It is unbelievable that while Malta holds the presidency of the European Council, it is breaching one of the articles of one of the treaties as if nothing is happening.