Members of the European Parliament today called for “rigorous harmonised safety rules and training for LNG storage".

The call was made in a report calling for an EU strategy for LNG and gas storage.
In a statement this afternoon, PN MEPs welcomed the vote, underlining the fact that the report also emphasised the need for impact assessments to ascertain the added value of new LNG transport and storage infrastructure.

“It is good that the European Parliament has acknowledged that safety rules and impact assessments are paramount with LNG and that MEPs underlined that the added value of any new LNG infrastructure must first be ascertained. This is important in Malta’s context where Konrad Mizzi’s gas tanker is both unnecessary and more expensive,” the Nationalist MEPs said.

They chided the government for insisting on berthing an LNG tanker in the middle of Marsaxlokk Bay, rather than continuing with the gas pipeline project or providing electricity by using the interconnector.

The decision to plump for a floating LNG platform would affect people’s daily lives and lead to more expensive electricity, they said.