The two-tier pricing system, where EU nationals are charged more than their Maltese neighbours for utility bills, has come to an end.

A lobby group of European expats was told all consumers will be treated equally during a meeting with Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi and ARMS CEO James Davies on Friday.

An Energy Ministry spokeswoman yesterday confirmed that ARMS’s two-tier system – with non-Maltese residents being subjected to a domestic tariff higher than the residential rate – would end at once.

ARMS will now accept ‘A’ ID cards and e-residence cards.

The lobby group, called Up in Arms, has been demanding equal treatment for months, insisting EU nationals are discriminated against by being charged between 35 and 60 per cent more than the Maltese for car registration, energy bills and bus fares.

They filed a class action lawsuit last December, a constitutional case in February, and presented a petition to the Prime Minister demanding equal treatment in May.

Representative Patricia Graham said this decision would still not help tenants billed directly by their landlord or whose landlords refused to register tenants or place the bills in their names.

“This is not over. There is still much to do. The two-tier tariff is illegal under EU law.

“We may have room to celebrate this small step and many will benefit from the decisions taken, but we must fight on until the domestic rate is abolished,” she said.