The European Commission has sent Malta a warning letter for failing to say how it plans to protect groundwater and coastal resources.

The island had until the end of last year to file water management plans under the Water Framework Directive. It has now been given two months to reply to the letter, a Commission official said.

"Malta is obliged under EU rules to protect its groundwater and coastal water resources and this should be done according to plans specifying how these resources are to be managed in the coming years, including safeguards against contamination and over-extraction," the official said.

"We have still not received any information on how Malta is carrying out its obligations under this directive and we are expecting to receive Malta's plans as soon as possible."

If Malta fails to submit a convincing reply by the deadline, Brussels might decide to drag it before the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

Malta is not the only member state that has been rapped over the issue: the others are Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Greece, Ireland, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Spain. Unlike Malta, their territories also include rivers and lakes which need to fall under a management plan.

According to the Water Framework Directive, all EU member states should have published their management plans at least nine years after the legislation entered into force in 2000. They are also required to consult the public and other interested parties and publish draft plans, allowing six months for comments in writing. That means the consultation process should have got underway by December 2008 at the latest.

"This puts the achievement of the directive's objectives at risk as further delays will have a knock-on effect for the overall implementation of the directive, on the establishment of measures and ultimately on improvement of the water environment," the Commission said.